Slow Cooker Arrabbiata Sauce

If you’re unfamiliar with Arrabiata sauce, let me tell you that the only difference between marinara sauce and Arrabiata sauce is heat; the latter employs the use of red pepper flakes. While many Arrabiata sauces are vegetarian, I like to add meat to mine because it makes it extra hearty and delicious.

This is a great slow cooker recipe because other than browning the meat (if you use it) everything just gets tossed into the slow cooker and hangs out all day long making your home smell like your favorite Italian restaurant. Use this in the same way that you would marinara sauce. It makes a lot, so be sure to store some in the freezer for future use.

Slow Cooker Arrabiata Sauce

1 lb. ground beef

½ t. Montreal Steak Seasoning

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

28 oz. diced tomatoes, do not drain

6 oz. can tomato paste

2 T. brown sugar

½ c. diced white onion

2 garlic cloves minced

1½ T. Italian Seasoning

1 t. sea salt

¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

¼ - ½ t. red pepper flakes

 In a 10-inch skillet over medium/high heat, brown beef, crumbling as you go. Stir in steak seasoning. Drain fat on paper towel-lined plate. Place in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients, and stir to combine. Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low 7 to 8 hours. Serve over your favorite pasta.

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Copycat P.F. Chang's Spicy Green Beans

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Despite the fact that P.F. (for Paul Fleming, in case you didn’t know) Chang‘s China Bistro is quite a popular chain amongst the vast array of Asian-theme restaurants, I don’t particularly care for it. It’s not that I haven’t tried to like it, I have, I just tend to think it’s overrated. That said, I do like their green beans...a LOT. Occasionally, I’ll get a taste for those green beans and whip up a batch. With this ubiquitous copycat recipe, there is absolutely nothing to it.  It makes a wonderful side dish no matter your cuisine, or a tasty meatless meal when served on top of a mound of rice.

Copycat P.F. Chang's Spicy Green Beans

 1-2 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2" pieces

2 scallions, thinly sliced

½ t. red pepper flakes*

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 T. sesame oil

1/8 t. salt

1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper

 Sauce:

2 T. low sodium soy sauce

1 T. rice vinegar

1 t. sugar

¼ c. water

1 t. cornstarch

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 Sesame Seeds

Red pepper flakes

In a small bowl, mix together sauce ingredients; set aside.

Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil, and allow it to heat for 30 to 45 seconds until just barely shimmering. Add garlic, scallions, and ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes. Stir-fry quickly for about 30 seconds. Add green beans and stir constantly until they’re almost fully cooked, three minutes. Push beans to the side, give the sauce a good stir, and add it to the skillet. Cook the sauce for 30 seconds; let the sauce come to a boil, then turn the heat to low. The sauce will thicken slightly. Stir the sauce into the green beans to coat. Cook beans and sauce for another 30 seconds, and then remove the skillet from the heat. Place green beans and sauce onto a serving plate or a bowl and garnish with sesame seeds and a few shakes of red pepper flakes. Serve.

 *Feel free to adjust down if you prefer a milder taste.

 Happy Meatless Monday!

 

 

 

Cajun Chicken Pasta Florentine

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There’s good news and bad news. The good news is, number two son and his wife put their house up for sale and sold it the first day. The bad news is that the house they’re building won’t be ready until November 19. So… enter good old, mom. You guessed it, my son, daughter-in-law, and their two cats descended upon my home ten days ago, moving into the lower level. Thank goodness they have enough space to spread out, enjoy their alone time as much as I do, and are adventurous eaters. It was a bit of an adjustment for all of us initially, but, once again, I have someone to cook for, so was eager to try a Cajun chicken pasta recipe on them. This goes together fairly easily, and if you start your pasta water when cutting your chicken, this meal can be on the table in 30 minutes time. Thumbs up all around.

Cajun Chicken Pasta Florentine

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts,* cut into thin strips
8 oz. rigatoni (or pasta of choice), cooked al dente,

reserving ½ c. pasta water

1 T. Cajun Seasoning
2 T. butter
2 scallions, sliced
1 c. heavy cream
¼ c. chopped Melissa’s sun-dried tomatoes
Pinch salt, or to taste
½ t. dried basil
¼ t. garlic powder
¼ t. freshly ground black pepper
1-2 handfuls fresh baby spinach

Place chicken strips and Cajun seasoning into a large bowl; toss to coat.

In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté chicken in butter or until tender, 6-8 minutes. Reduce heat and add scallions, tomatoes, basil, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and heat through. Add spinach and allow to wilt. Stir in heavy cream, bring to a simmer, and continue cooking until mixture thickens slightly. If mixture becomes too thick, thin with reserved pasta water. Toss with hot pasta and serve immediately.

*Can substitute shrimp for chicken

Spicy Jalapeño Ranch Dressing

I always consider Memorial Day to be the official start of summer.(Don’t get me started on the stifling, sub-tropical, record-breaking temperatures that we’ve had here…ALL MONTH! Just don't.) I like a bit of zing during the summertime, so created this Spicy Jalapeño Ranch Dressing to drizzle on salads, crudités, grilled corn on the cob, well, pretty much everything! I’m giving it to you today, because you’re going to need it for the recipe that I’m going to share with you tomorrow. I always find it best to make my own homemade Ranch Dressing from my special mix (see below), but if you prefer not to do that, and use the packet (I will not judge), you can just add the taco seasoning, and pickled jalapeño. You’re going to love this one, let me know how you use it.

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day, everyone!

Spicy Jalapeño Ranch Dressing

2 cups Ranch Dressing, prepared with 

Ranch Dressing Mix (see below)

1 Melissa’s pickled jalapeño, seeded and quartered

1 teaspoon “Ultimate” Taco Seasoning

Place dressing, jalapeño, and taco seasoning into a blender. Blend until creamy. 

Ranch Dressing Mix

8 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

5-1/2 tablespoons instant minced onion

4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Stir ingredients together and store in a cool, dry pace. To prepare, combine 2 tablespoons of the mix with 1-cup buttermilk and 1 cup mayonnaise. This will keep for six months.

 PRINT RECIPE

This post is linked to:

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

Merry Monday

Over the Moon

Celebrate Your Story

Inspire Me Tuesday

O My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday

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You may (or may not, I won't judge) remember my telling you in this post that I had bought a lot of shrimp. Last night, finally feeling up to making a meal (as opposed to thawing one), I tried this recipe. Someone had given it to me years ago, so I don't know the source, but I will say that it is both easy and delicious. Because I am still so blasted tired from my battle with the flu, I measured out my ingredients, cleaned the shrimp, and did all of the prep work at various intervals throughout the day, so when it was time for dinner, everything was ready and came together in no time. It is so quick and easy to prepare that I started it when "Big Bang Theory" came on TV, and sat down to dine before the credits ran. I'll be making this again.

Indian Shrimp Curry

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1/2 sweet onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

1 (14.5 ounce) can chopped tomatoes

1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound cooked, peeled, and deveined shrimp

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

 1/4 teaspoon dried cilantro 

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat; saute onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and allow it to cool slightly, about 2 minutes. Return to low heat and add garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, paprika, and chili powder to the onion; stir to combine. Pour the tomatoes and coconut milk into the skillet; season with salt.

Cook the mixture at a simmer, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in shrimp, fresh cilantro, and dried cilantro; cook another 1 minute before serving.

This post is linked to:

What’s for Dinner Sunday

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

Dishing It & Digging It

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

Art of Homemaking Monday

Celebrate Your Story

Fruit & Spice Cookies

As I've mentioned on this blog ad nauseam, I am not a baker. But, I am an eater who loves her cookies, and if I'm not going to bake them, who will? The other day I had a hankering for a fruity, spicy, nutty cookie. Something that was really tasty, and a cross between a Joe Frogger and a raisin cookie. So, I grabbed a couple of familiar recipes, substituted here and there, based upon what I had in the pantry, and came up with these. I’m quite pleased! Normally, I don't like a softer cookie, but when it comes to a spicy cookie with a light molasses base, soft and chewy is good. Because this is a recipe I just pulled out of my head, feel free to substitute the walnuts for pecans, and the mixture of currants and golden raisins that I used (that is all that I had at the time) for a full cup of any type of fruit that you have on hand. If you like cookies with lots of taste, you'll enjoy these.

Fruit & Spice Cookies

½ cup salted butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

1 large egg

2 tablespoons water

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

¾ cup currants

¼ cup golden raisins

½ cup walnut halves

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Spray baking sheets with Pam, or line with parchment or a Silpat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, and molasses. Beat on high until light and fluffy. Add egg and water, and beat to combine.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in fruits and nuts.

Using a cookie scoop, drop dough 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake until edges are golden brown, approximately 12 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool completely.

PRINT RECIPE

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Full Plate Thursday

Home Sweet Home
Weekend Linky Party
Grace at Home
Foodie Friday & Everything Else
Wildly Original
Share Your Style

Family Joy Blog Link Party
Simple Saturday Blog Hop
A Bouquet of Talent

Bacon Chili Corn Chowder

I am a chowder kind of girl, so when I saw this recipe on Twelve Tomatoes, I knew that it was in my future. The recipe is good, very good, but I took it over the top by stirring in a cup of shredded Pepper Jack cheese, and kicking it up a bit with some smoky ground cumin. Even Mr. O-P, who is not a spicy guy, and whose soup love begins and ends with Chicken Noodle, liked this one. The original recipe called for five cups (approximately 6 ears) of fresh corn. I'm sure that fresh corn, in season, and perhaps roasted on the grill, would have added much to the deliciousness, but I only had frozen and it was still delicious. The heat is adaptable, so if you like more, add another chipotle. Also, experiment with your own variety of onions. I didn't quite have enough scallions called for, but did have one lone leek on the verge of becoming limp and trash bound, so I thinly sliced it, and tossed it in; if you don't have a leek, use more scallions.

Bacon Chili Corn Chowder

6 slices bacon, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

1 1/2 large yellow onions, diced

4 scallions, chopped

1 leek, white part only, finely sliced

2 tablespoons butter

1 15-ounce bag frozen corn

2 whole Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce, diced

1 can (4 ounces) diced green chilies

32 ounces homemade chicken stock

2 cups heavy cream

4 tablespoons Masa (I used cornmeal)

1 cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large pot, cook bacon pieces over medium heat until crispy. Remove some of the bacon and save for garnish.  Add the diced onions (scallions and leeks); cook and stir for 3-4 minutes.

After the onions start to soften, add butter to the pot, let melt and then add the corn. Stir and cook for 2 minutes.

Add both varieties of chilies and stir, cooking for 1-2 minutes.

Pour in chicken stock and bring to a simmer, then pour in cream.

In a small container, combine Masa (or cornmeal) with a little bit of water and mix together, then pour into the soup. Allow to cook and thicken for around 15 minutes. Add cumin and paprika, and stir to blend. Add cheese and stir until it melts.

Garnish with croutons, chopped chives or scallions, crumbled bacon, popcorn, crumbled tortilla chips, or cheese curls.

Serves 8

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Creative Ways

Create It Thursday

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday

Friday Finds

Five Star Frugal