Lyonnaise Potatoes

Lyonnaise Potatoes from Mr. Food
6 Idaho potatoes, peeled and quartered
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 medium-sized onion, coarsely chopped

Directions:  Fill a medium saucepan three-quarters full with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add potatoes, and cook 10 to 15 minutes, or until fork-tender; drain and set aside to cool slightly.

Cut potatoes into 1/8-inch slices and place in a medium bowl; gently stir in salt and pepper then set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat and saute onions until browned. Add onions to potatoes; mix well.

Spread mixture evenly in skillet and cook 12 to 14 minutes over medium heat, until potatoes are browned, turning halfway through cooking. Serve immediately.

Here's what you'll need:

Peel the potatoes

Cut them up.

Boil them until they are fork-tender.

Drain them and set aside.

Chop up an onion.  Brown the onions in a skillet with some olive oil.

Add the onion to the potatoes and mix well.

In the same oil, add the onion and potato mixture.  Cook for 12-14 minutes, turning once.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

This fancy-named recipe is just fried potatoes with onions.  The potatoes had great flavor and everyone enjoyed them.  The onions had a good sweetness to the potato and an extra texture.

I thought the recipe made it more complicated than it had to be, though.  I really see no need for boiling the potatoes first.   

My mom makes fried potatoes that are both crispy on the outside but soft on the inside.  I think the key is to have medium heat to soften the potatoes and onions instead of a high heat that will instantly fry them.  You can always turn the burner up at the end of the cooking to get a little crispier potato.

Hope you enjoy!

April

Irish Beef Pie

Irish Beef Pie  Adapted from Finding Joy In My Kitchen
1 tube crescent rolls
1 tsp. olive oil
1/4 head green cabbage, finely sliced/shredded
4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 lb. beef stew meat, cubed into small chunks
1 can beef broth
3 T tomato paste
1/3 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. Montreal Seasoning
sea salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:  Peel, wash, and dice up the potatoes.  Shred the cabbage.  Preheat the oven according to the crescent roll directions.  Place olive oil, sliced cabbage and potatoes in a large skillet and begin to brown these veggies until lightly browned.  Then, add in the beef broth and beef and cook until beef is mostly cooked through.  Add in the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce along with the seasonings and simmer.  Simmer for ~10 minutes until potatoes are tender and beef is cooked through and most of the liquids are evaporated.

Pour the pie filling into the pie.  Preheat the oven and cook per crescent roll directions.  Allow the pie to cool for ~5 minutes before serving.

Here's what you'll need:

Peel, wash, and dice up the potatoes.

Roll out the dough and press it into a 9x13 baking dish.

Thinly slice or grate 1/4-1/2 head of cabbage.

Put some olive oil in a pan and add the cabbage and potatoes.

Cook until they are lightly browned.

Add the beef and beef broth and cook until the beef is almost cooked through.

Once the beef has cooked for a bit, add the tomato paste and herbs.  Continue to cook until the potatoes are tender and most of the liquid is gone.

Pour into the baking dish and then pop into the oven.  Cook according to dough directions.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

The first thing that I thought once I started making it is that it kind of reminded me of my Mom's Stew.  What is ironic is that when I posted Mom's Stew recipe, Chris (Nibble Me This) posted that her stew reminded him of Shepherd's Pie. 

When Scott sat down to eat this, you know what he said?  Looks like stew that was baked.  Ha!

I LOVED this recipe.  I was a little nervous putting the cabbage in because boiled/cooked cabbage brings back memories of this soggy, stringy stuff that my Granny used to eat but I should not have worried at all.  The cabbage actually takes the place of the onions that we use in our stew recipe and, in fact, I could have actually put more in there.

The Montreal seasoning was a great touch and I ended up using less salt than I normally would have.

The crescent roll added a good base to it and took the place of the crackers that we would normally use. 

Bottom line, this was a big hit in our house!

Hope you enjoy!

April

Weekly Menu

Red Wine Chicken with Butternut Squash
  served with Lyonnaise Potatoes
Meatball Calzone
Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Leftovers!


Shopping List

Produce
2 onions
1 head garlic
2lbs squash
2 cups fresh shitake mushrooms
1 inch ginger root
1 orange
1 red bell pepper
3 scallions
1 large head iceberg lettuce
6 Idaho potatoes
Meat
4 slices turkey bacon
1 1/2lbs boneless chicken
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds thin cut chicken breast or chicken tenders


Groceries
1 bottle red wine
1 can chicken broth
1 4oz can mushrooms, stems and pieces
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 small tin sliced water chestnuts
1 jar Hoisin or Chinese BBQ sauce
Dairy
1lb pizza dough (maybe 2 containers)
1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese

Bakery

Frozen

1 20oz bag frozen meatballs

Staples
Flour
Dried Thyme
Olive oil
Vegetable or peanut oil
Salt and pepper

Pasta Shells with Portobella Mushrooms, Asparagus, and Boursin Sauce

Pasta Shells with Portobella Mushrooms, Asparagus, and Boursin Sauce from Food and Wine
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound portobello mushrooms, stems removed, caps halved and then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
1 5 1/2-ounce package pepper Boursin cheese
1 pound asparagus
3/4 pound medium pasta shells
Directions
1.In a large frying pan, melt the butter with the oil over moderate heat. Add the mushrooms and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender and well browned, about 8 minutes. Add the chicken broth and Boursin cheese and bring to a simmer while stirring.
2.Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the spears into 1/2-inch pieces. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until almost done, about 6 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook until it and the pasta are just done, about 4 minutes longer. Drain. Toss with the mushrooms and sauce.

Here's what you'll need:

Put some water on to boil for the pasta and cook pasta according to directions.

Take the stems off of the mushrooms.

Slice them into 1/4 inch slices.

Take the hard stems off of the asparagus.  There is a natural breaking point in an asparagus stem.  Just grab it and bend it and the hard part will pop right off.

Cut the asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces.

Melt the butter and olive oil in a pan.

Toss the mushrooms in the pan.  Add salt.  Let them cook until they are soft and brown, about 7-8 minutes.

Add the chicken broth to the mushrooms.

Add the Boursin cheese.

Add the asparagus stems to the pasta.  Let them cook for about 4-6 minutes or until tender-crisp.

The cheese sauce will start to thicken.  I turned it down.

Add the pasta to the sauce and mix.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

Have you had Boursin cheese?  If not, go to your grocery store and buy some NOW!  It is a creamy, garlicy, herby French cheese that I cannot get enough of.  I can imagine being in France and buying a bottle of wine, a loaf of bread, and some Boursin cheese and having that be my meal.  tip:  At our local grocery store, Boursin cheese is rather expensive; however, I found it at Costco and you get 3 packages for under $7!

Anyway, on to this dish, this dish is restaurant worthy.  The contrasting textures of the shells, asparagus, and mushrooms work perfectly.  I was afraid that the asparagus would not cook properly or take on too much of the starch from the pasta but I was wrong.  It add just a bit of a crunchy texture and combined with the Earthy mushrooms, it was fantastic.

I ended up using about 1 1/4 packages of Boursin cheese but that is just because I used a whole box of the pasta.  I wanted to make sure that all of the pasta had sauce and it was just a little too thin with that many noodles and only 1 round of the cheese.

Hope you enjoy!

April

All-American Skillet Goulash

All-American Skillet Goulash from Mr. Food
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 medium-sized green bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 (28-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:  Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain and cover to keep warm.

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef, bell pepper, and onion over high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, or until no pink remains in the beef, stirring frequently. Drain off excess liquid.

Add macaroni, spaghetti sauce, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper; mix well. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer 5 to 7 minutes, or until heated through. Sprinkle with cheese and simmer 1 to 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted; serve.

Here's what you'll need:

Put some water on to boil.

Chop up an onion and a green pepper.

Put the macaroni in and cook according to directions.

Put the ground beef on to brown along with the onion and green pepper.

Once the macaroni is cooked, drain it and add it to the ground beef.

Add in the spaghetti sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Mix it altogether and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.

Sprinkle cheese on top.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

This was a very simple and easy dish.  It was very quick to make and I had all of the ingredients on hand.

It reminded me a lot of a Hamburger Helper meal and it would be a great alternative to HH especially if you don't want to use processed white noodles.  I used whole grain.  Kanin really liked it a lot and he is taking it to school tomorrow.

Hope you enjoy!

April

Weekly Menu

All American Skillet Goulash
Italian Chicken
Pasta Shells with Portobello Mushrooms, Asparagus
  and Boursin Sauce
Irish Beef Pie


Italian Chicken Recipe
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 3 *very large* ones)
1 1b potatoes, cut into 1" chunks
1/2 sm. bag baby carrots
1 c. italian dressing, divided
garlic powder, to taste
onion powder, to taste
salt & pepper, to taste
parmesan cheese, to taste

Place potato chunks & carrots in a large ziplock bag with 1/4 c. italian dressing & marinate for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. Do the same with the chicken breasts (separate bag) with another 1/4 c. italian dressing. Preheat oven to 400. Microwave potato/carrot mixture for 5-7 minutes (otherwise they won't get completely done in the oven). Place chicken breasts in a greased 9x13 glass dish. Pour vegetables all around chicken. Salt, pepper, garlic powder & onion powder to taste. Drizzle with the remaining 1/2 c. italian dressing and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake, covered, for 40-45 minutes, then uncover & continue baking for another 20-30 minutes until chicken runs clear & vegetables are tender.

*Note* I microwaved vegetables for 5 minutes on 50% power, then I baked covered for 40 minutes, then uncovered for 30 and vegetables were not quite as tender as I like (like in pot roast), but *were* done. So if you like them really tender, either microwave for slightly longer or leave covered while baking longer before uncovering. Either way, the flavor was really good & the kids LOVED it! They both ate 2 full plate fulls! Enjoy!


Shopping List

Produce
Green bell pepper
Onion
1lb potatoes
1/2 bag of small carrots
1lb portobello mushrooms
1lb asparagus
1/2 head green cabbage
4 medium russet potatoes


Meat
93/7 ground beef
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2lb beef stew meat

Staples
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Worcestershire
Dried thyme
Montreal seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Butter
Olive Oil

Grocery
Elbow macaroni
Spaghetti sauce
1 bottle Italian dressing
1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3/4lb medium pasta shells
1 can beef broth
1 can tomato paste

Dairy
Shredded cheddar cheese
Parmesan cheese
1 5.5oz Boursin cheese
1 tube crescent roll dough