Chicken Thighs Braised in White Wine

If you have been to my blog regularly, you will know that I absolutely love chicken thighs. They are inexpensive, easy to prepare and packed with flavor. I would take a chicken thigh over a breast any day. This recipe dresses them up a bit, but is very simple.




The recipe came from Everyday Food.




I cut this basically in half. You don't need a lot of ingredients for this. Some white wine, lemon, garlic, salt, pepper, dried thyme, parsley and butter.




And of course some chicken thighs!




The wine is a nice Sauvignon Blanc. I like cooking with this varietal because its dry, tangy and not buttery or oaky.




Slice up your garlic.




Slice up half of your lemon.




And juice the other half. You are done with your prep!




Get the chicken skin side down in a non stick skillet and get them seasoned with salt and pepper. Add in the wine, garlic, and thyme. Bring this to a boil.




Once its boiling, reduce the heat so it simmers and put the lid on it. You now have 30 minutes to do whatever you like! Go for a walk, read a book or play with your dog. Isn't cooking hard??




After 30 minutes, flip the chicken over and lay a lemon slice on each thigh.




Cover it back up and let it cook for 15 more minutes. While it cooks slice off some butter and grab some aluminum foil.




When the chicken is done, get it out of the pan and under some foil to keep warm.




Bring the liquid back to a boil and let it reduce by half. Remove it from the heat and stir in the butter and parsley.




Once the butter is melted, you are ready to plate.




I served this up with one of those instant rice packets that you just zap in the microwave. This chicken looks good, tastes great, and could not be easier. I hope you give this one a try.

Pork Paprikash

This recipe includes two of my favorite things, pork tenderloin and paprika. If you love both, you are going to adore this recipe. It comes from Everyday Food and I cut it in half.








Start boiling some water and we will prep our ingredients. You will need some egg noodles, sour cream, canned tomatoes, paprika, pork, onion, butter and parsley.




Dice up the onion. Throw your noodles in the boiling water.




Measure out the sour cream and chop up the butter for the noodles.




Chop up the pork into bite sized pieces.




Get it in a bowl with the paprika, salt and pepper.




Toss it around so the pork gets covered in the delicious paprika.




Brown up the pork for 3-5 minutes.




When your pork is browned, get it out of the pan and put in the onions with a little oil.




Your noodles should be done so drain those, toss in the butter and put a lid on it.




Once the onions have cooked for 4-5 minutes, add the pork back in with the tomatoes, water, and more paprika.




Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 2-4 minutes.




Remove from the heat and add in the sour cream.




Give it a stir so that it becomes creamy and delicious.




Plate up the noodles and add the pork over them. Garnish with some parsley and enjoy! I totally loved this dish and will be making it again very soon!

Beef Noodle Casserole

I have been going casserole crazy over here, but I have to get my fill as it is going to be hot here soon enough. Today it is going to be 86, so we are already getting a taste of our summer weather.








This recipe is from Cooking for 2 magazine. Boil up some water and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lets gather the ingredients and get this delicious casserole started.




You need some cream cheese or neufchatel cheese.




Some mozzarella cheese.




When your water is boiling throw in your egg noodles.




I used reduced fat sour cream, the non-fat just doesnt taste the same to me.




Slice up some green onions.




Rough chop the all important garlic. Now we have things prepped so lets start cooking.




Brown up some ground beef. You could also use ground turkey.




To get the excess grease out of the pan I just used the end piece of a loaf of bread.




Add in the tomato, green onion, garlic, green chiles and some salt. Give that a stir and let it heat through.




while that cooks a little, combine the softened cream cheese and sour cream. Drain your noodles and its time to start assembling the casserole!




The first layer is the beef mixture. This combo was delicious and would be great just on some rice or nacho chips.




Layer in the beef.




Add on the noodles.




Layer on the cheese mixture and sprinkle on some mozzarella cheese.




Repeat the layers and finish with one final layer of the beef mixture. Put a lid on it and get it in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Mine baked up in a lovely Autumn Harvest Pyrex casserole.

When its bubbly pull it out and serve it up!




I can't even tell you how good this was! I am so glad it made 3 servings as I enjoyed the leftovers as much as I did the original dish. This sort of reminded me of that Hamburger Helper stuff I used to eat as a kid, but it was a million times better. You definitely need to try this one!

Portobello Spaghetti Casserole

As I live in Arizona, I am trying to get the most use out of my oven as possible before it is 100 degrees outside again. This casserole is a great vegetarian meal that uses portobello mushrooms instead of beef or sausage.








Get a pot of water boiling and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.




You need some sour cream, portobello mushrooms, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, one egg, some spaghetti, pasta sauce, flour, parsley and garlic powder. Cute Pyrex bowl is optional. Whew, that is a lot of stuff, but don't worry this is pretty simple!




Use a spoon to scrape out the underside of the mushroom cap.




Slice them up.




Saute them in a pan with a little oil, salt and pepper. Drop your pasta in the boiling water.




While those saute, break an egg into a bowl.




Measure out the sour cream.




Drop it into the bowl with the egg and add in the Parmesan cheese, flour, parsley, and garlic powder.




Get those ingredients combined.




Drain your pasta and stir that into the sour cream mixture.




Put that into an adorable Pyrex casserole dish, or any old casserole dish you have.




Top it with the sauteed mushrooms.




Pour on the marinara sauce.




I used this delicious marinara from Delallo.




Pop the lid on the casserole and get it into the oven for 30 minutes.




Take it out of the oven and remove the lid when the 30 minutes are up. Top with some mozzarella cheese and put it back in the oven without the lid for another 10-15 minutes.




Pull it out and let it hang out for about 10 minutes, even though it is REALLY hard because it looks and smells delicious.




Plate it up and enjoy!

Spaghetti with Lemon, Tuna and Breadcrumbs

I have got a lot of questions in the comments and I'd love to answer them so make sure to leave an email address, or just send me an email!

Today I am sharing a quick after work meal that is simple and will be on the table with very little work.





Preheat your oven and boil some water for some pasta and lets prep the few other ingredients. Pulse your bread with oil in the food processor, or cheat and just toast up some breadcrumbs from a bag. Toast them for 6-8 minutes in the oven, keep an eye on them! Get your pasta in the water as well.




You need some lemon, olives, parsley, tuna, breadcrumbs and some pasta.




Zest your lemon and then juice it. You need about 3 tablespoons of lemon juice if you are making the full recipe, I cut everything in half.




I used some kalamata olives, but you can use whatever kind you like, give them a rough chop, open your tuna and we are almost ready to eat.




Save some of the pasta water and then drain your noodles. Return the pasta to your pan and add in the olives, tuna, lemon juice and lemon zest. Give it a toss and add in a little of the pasta water to create a sauce.




Plate it up and sprinkle your toasted breadcrumbs and parsley on the top.

Horseradish Mac n' Cheese with Bacon

I am delivering another comfort food dish and enjoying the use of my oven before the weather gets hot here again. This is a special macaroni and cheese dish that has the best flavor. I am sure some of you are saying HORSERADISH are you mad??! But it really just adds a subtle flavor in the background that will make people say, what is that??








Start boiling water and fire up your oven to 350 degrees. Lets gather some ingredients!




First stop is bacon town!!




This is a great way to cook bacon, but one thing I didn't realize is that it will stick! The next time I made it I put down some of that non-stick aluminum foil. This goes in the oven for about 25 minutes.




You need some farfalle pasta, get it into the boiling water and we will prep the rest of the ingredients.




You need some green onions, nutmeg, cheese, butter, horseradish, milk, flour and some parsley.




Grate up your cheese, or have your hubby do it like I did. He didn't eat any of this, but he doesn't mind helping.




Chop up the green onions.




Pick a few pinches of the yummy cheese and give it a sample.




Keep an eye on your pasta.




Toss some butter into a sauce pan and get it melted.




Whisk in the flour for a minute.




Whisk in the milk, season with the salt, pepper and the nutmeg.




Grab your bacon from the oven while the cheese sauce reduces for a few minutes. Crank the oven to broil. This is when I realized it was stuck to the pan, but luckily it was just going to be crumbled into the dish. The rest the hubby salvaged for a BLT. Lets get back to the cheese sauce.




Whisk in your cheese but save some to sprinkle on the top.




Remove it from the heat, add in the bacon and the horseradish, are you drooling yet my friends??




Drain your pasta and add it into a casserole dish. I am using a fabulous Pyrex from 1960!




Pour on the sauce.




Sprinkle the green onions, reserved cheese, and parsley on top and get it in under the broiler.




After 3-4 minutes under the broiler it is ready to eat!




Serve it with a pickle if you want. I thought this was absolutely fabulous and my brother gave it a try and agreed. You will not be overwhelmed by horseradish, it is just a subtle flavor that gives it a unique taste that is hard to put your finger on. Give this a try and I know you will love it!

Ham and Noodle Casserole

I have been in the mood for casseroles lately so I have a few to share this week. I have also been in the mood to have the oven on as its been pretty chilly here in Arizona. This casserole is good old fashioned comfort, just like the Tuna Noodle Casserole I had on here not too long ago.








Get some water boiling, preheat the oven to 325 degrees and we will get under way!




You need some grated cheddar, bread crumbs, onion, butter, egg noodles, oregano, milk and some cooked ham. As soon as your water is boiling, toss the egg noodles in.




Meanwhile, finely chop or grate some onion.




Cube up your cooked ham.




Grab a bowl, mine is a cute Pyrex cinderella bowl, and fill it with the grated cheese, onion, ham, soup, milk, butter and oregano.




In a separate bowl, combine the breadcrumbs with the remaining butter.




When your noodles are cooked, stir them in with the other ingredients.




Get it into a casserole dish and sprinkle the breadcrumbs on the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes.




Look at that golden crust on the top, yum!




This is comfort food for sure. I will have another casserole coming up later this week!

Oven Baked Falafel

I love falafel and could eat it weekly. The problem is those glorious little falafel balls are usually deep fried and fried food isn't the best thing to have that often. You can imagine my excitement when I opened my Cuisine at Home magazine and saw this recipe for an oven baked version.








Lets start prepping!




First thing, grease up a pan, I am using a cake pan. I did a combo of olive oil and a little squirt of that non-stick spray stuff. I used my fingers to get the bottom nice and coated. The recipe says to preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the pan in it, so I did!




There are a lot of ingredients but this is not that hard, I promise. You need flour, crushed red pepper, onion, garbanzo beans (aka chick peas), baking powder, garlic, eggs, lemon and parsley. This will make up the falafel, we will make the sauce in a bit.




Chop up the onion and garlic.




Measure out the cumin, red pepper and salt.




Beat the egg.




Measure out the flour.




Get your garbanzo beans, cumin, red pepper, salt, parsley, lemon zest, baking powder, onion and garlic in the food processor and pulse until its coarse, but not pasty.




Drop it in a bowl, I am using my awesome Pyrex butterprint bowl.




Add in the egg and flour.




Combine it and you are ready to get these guys in the oven.




I used my ice cream scoop to drop them in the cake pan. I don't care about how they look, but if you want perfectly round falafel you can shape them a little bit better.




Measure out some olive oil and set it near the oven as you will want to brush the falafel when you give them a flip.

While those bake up, make the yogurt sauce.




You need some yogurt, tahini (sesame paste), lemon, garlic and cucumber.




Juice the lemon, preferably into a cute Pyrex bowl. Yes, I am obsessed :)




Add in the tahini.




Seed the cucumber, I just use a spoon and scrape away.




Grate the cucumber.

Don't forget about your falafel! After 20 minutes you need to flip them.




Brush them with the olive oil.




Flip them over and get them back in the oven.

Back to the sauce...




Squeeze the excess water from the cucumber.




Add the yogurt to the lemon and tahini.




Combine that together with a whisk.




Add in the cucumber and some minced garlic.




This sauce would be a great appetizer to set out with some toasted pita bread. Speaking of pita bread, I should toast some for this falafel treat.




I just toss it in the toaster oven and then use my pizza wheel to cut into quarters.




Place some falafel on the pita and drizzle with the yogurt sauce. Was this as crisp and chewy as a deep fried falafel? No. But it was absolutely delicious and filled my craving for those deep fried little wonders.

White Fish with Roasted Corn

It is almost Friday, thank goodness for that, right? On a Friday night I am usually ready to just relax and don't feel like making a fancy meal. Since I am cooking just for me, I can make whatever I want and this fish recipe has my name all over it.




This is so quick and easy you will be enjoying a tasty meal in no time and you can start your weekend. Preheat your broiler and lets gather just a few ingredients.




Mayo, one of my favorite things in the world. If you don't like mayo you should probably just stop reading here.




Chili Powder, another of my favorites.




Cat fish or any other white fish you like. The recipe actually calls for tilapia.




A lime.




And finally some frozen corn.




Combine the mayo, chili powder and some salt.




This would make a great spread on a chicken sandwich also!




Grab a baking pan or baking sheet and brush it with the mayo mixture. The mayo will keep the fish from sticking to the pan, what a great idea.




Brush the top of the fish with the remainder of the mayo mixture.




Defrost some corn and layer it on top of the fish. Broil this for about 10 minutes and your meal is ready!




Serve this up with a nice salad and you will be eating 15 minutes after you walk in the door.

I want to thank everyone again for the comments and emails. I have received a few emails from people who have tried and enjoyed several recipes I featured here and I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know you got some use out of this blog. I still love doing it so it gets me excited to know people still enjoy reading it. Have a great weekend everyone!

Hunan Beef Stir Fry

If you are like me, sometimes you come home from work and don't want to do anything elaborate, but you want to have something tasty for dinner. I have found that when I can prepare part of my meal the night before, it makes it easier to cook when I get home.








This stir fry recipe is so easy and there are a lot of things you can prep the night before. Lets gather some ingredients and do some night before prep work.




The beef needs to be marinated in this simple but tasty marinade. You need some soy sauce, sherry, garlic, and some beef. I am actually using some leftover beef pot roast.




Combine the ingredients.




Pour them over the beef in a ziplock bag. Marinate for an hour, or overnight in the fridge.

You can also prepare your rice the night before and prep your veggies, so all you have to do the next day is fry everything up and reheat the rice.




The rest of the ingredients include mushrooms, carrot, green onion, broccoli, ginger, crushed red pepper and corn starch.




Chop your green onion and your carrots.




Chop the broccoli. (or the broccolaaaay for you SNL fans)




I chose these mushrooms as they are in my 1001 foods to taste before I die book, and they were CHEAP!




Cut off the bottoms and these are ready to go. Everything I have shown so far can be done the night before and stashed in the fridge.

When you are ready to cook the stir fry you have just a few things left to do...



Combine the cornstarch and the water. This will help to thicken your sauce.




Mince up some ginger.




Drain the beef but keep the marinade, that will be your sauce soon. Get it in a hot wok or skillet with some oil, I prefer peanut oil for stir frying. Cook this for a couple of minutes over high heat. Remove it from the wok and set aside.




Add in the veggies, red pepper flakes, ginger, and the mushrooms. As you can see my broccoli is missing. I had steamed it a little bit before hand because I don't like super crisp broccoli in my stir fries. Cook these veggies for about 2 minutes.




Add the marinade and the corn starch and until the sauce has thickened and the veggies are cooked to your liking.




Add the beef back in and get it heated through. Dish it up over some rice or noodles and you are ready to eat!




I love stir fry and this had a ton of flavor but did not take a ton of time. This is a perfect weeknight meal.