A place to record the great, the good, and the really bad recipe served at dinner at The Taj McCall along with a Family Rating System.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Shrimp, Mushroom, and Artichoke Pasta

I made this for dinner on a Saturday night. It was pretty good and the kids loved it, although Brad and I found it a little bland (it could've used more cayenne pepper) and the sauce was a little thick.

Shrimp, Mushroom, and Artichoke Pasta
8 oz fettuccine or linguine
10 tbsp butter, divided
4 oz fresh, sliced mushrooms
1 jar artichoke hearts, drained and cut up
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 oz cream cheese, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
2/3 cup boiling water (from your noodle pot)
1 lb peeled shrimp
cajun seasoning
cayenne pepper

Boil and salt a large pot of water and cook your pasta. While your pasta is cooking, season the shrimp with cajun seasoning and cook in olive oil in a large skillet. Remove and keep warm. In the same skillet melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat and saute mushrooms until soft and brown. Season with salt and pepper. Add artichoke hearts and heat through. Remove mushrooms and artichoke hearts and keep warm with the shrimp. Melt remaining butter in the skillet. Add minced garlic, cream cheese, and herbs. At this point, it will look like something has gone terribly wrong. The cream cheese doesn’t really melt and starts to look almost curdled. It will all smooth out and be wonderful when you add the water. Simmer cream cheese mixture until well blended. Get a scoop of boiling pasta water from the noodle pot and mix it in, stirring quickly to smooth out the sauce. Add a little more cayenne pepper (I didn't put enough because I was worried it would be too hot for the kids, but it really needed more.) Save a little more pasta water in case the sauce is too thick later on. Keep sauce hot and add shrimp mixture, mix well and simmer (stirring often) until everything is hot and thickened. Toss sauce with cooked noodles and serve. Add more pasta water if the sauce gets too thick.

Adapted from CHAOS IN THE KITCHEN

Family Rating:
Brad: ****
Jordan: ***
Eli: *****
Phoebe: *****
Overall Family Rating: 17/20

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Brad's Famous Fajitas

I'm not sure if Brad is actually famous for these fajitas outside of our own family. He started making them when we were dating and they are still a favorite. Phoebe even told me today that she wanted to eat them every night for dinner! This is a basic recipe that will feed about 4 adults. We double it often to have lots of leftovers because it makes the very best leftovers and they can be used for quesadillas, too.

Brad's Famous Fajitas
1 lb. chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into long strips (You can also use breast tenderloins, but some of them might need to be cut even thinner.)
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 onion, cut into strips
1/4-1/2 cup of butter (yeah, you read that right)
Fiesta Fajita Seasoning (This is key. It cannot be any other fajita seasoning. You can find it at Wal-Mart or Sam's or even ONLINE.)
flour tortillas
sour cream
salsa
grated cheese

Season chicken liberally with Fiesta Fajita Seasoning. Melt half a stick of butter over high heat in a large skillet. Brown chicken until completely cooked through. Taste for seasonings. You want it to be good and seasoned. If it tastes bland at all, add more. Remove to a plate and keep warm. Add two more tablespoons of butter to the skillet and let melt. Throw in the veggies and season liberally. Brown veggies over high heat until tender. Add more butter, if needed. You want there to be some liquid in with your veggies because it makes a nice "sauce" for the chicken and veggies. Add chicken back to the pan. Warm tortillas. We like to cook them on both sides on a hot griddle, but you can also just wrap them in foil and heat them for 15-20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Serve them with sour cream, salsa, and cheese (or anything else you'd like).

Family Rating:
Brad: *****
Jordan: *****
Eli: *****
Phoebe: *****
Overall Family Rating: 20/20

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Egg and Ham Biscuit Sandwiches

This was one of those meals that Brad and I were lukewarm about, but the kids loved. I'm going to make it again, but add Tabasco sauce to the eggs and cheese.

Egg and Ham Biscuit Sandwiches
8 eggs
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream (I didn't have this so I used half-and-half)
Dash salt
Dash pepper
4 teaspoons butter
1/2 of an 8 oz tub chive and onion cream cheese, cubed
8 thin slices of ham
8 large biscuits (I used a pkg of Pillsbury Grand Biscuits)

Prepare biscuits according to package directions. Heat ham in the microwave. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Add egg mixture; cook and stir until almost set. Stir in cream cheese. Cook and stir until completely set. Split each biscuit in half. Top each bottom half with two slices of ham followed by some of the eggs. Top with biscuit tops and enjoy.

Recipe from REAL MOM KITCHEN

Family Rating:
Brad: **
Jordan: **
Eli: *****
Phoebe: *****
Overall Family Rating: 12/20

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

I made a half recipe of this, but next time I think I'll do the whole thing and freeze half. I think it would work well.

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken
1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/3 heaping teaspoon ground ginger
2 cloves minced garlic
a pinch of pepper
2 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoons cold water
Hot cooked long grain rice

Place chicken in a 4 qt. slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, soy sauce, cider vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken to a serving platter; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking liquid. Place liquid in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Gradually stir into liquid and stir until sauce is thickened. Serve with chicken and rice.

Recipe adapted from LAKE LURE COTTAGE KITCHEN where you can find the doubled recipe.

Family Rating:
Brad: ****
Jordan: ***
Eli: ****
Phoebe: ****
Overall Family Rating: 15/20

Friday, February 10, 2012

Crockpot Italian Roast

It's not that I've forgotten about this little blog, I've just haven't been cooking the last several weeks. After my seizure (which you can read about HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE), people were bringing me food for almost two weeks. It was great! And we had some great food, but I didn't have recipes for any of them so I didn't post. I'm back in the saddle again posting about a dish my dad made while he was here. Its an old family-favorite I grew up eating. And it's super-easy! Be sure to serve it with whole green beans, too. Not sure why (except they're pretty), but that's what we always ate with this dish. :)

Crockpot Italian Roast:
3-4 lb. rump roast (I normally use a chuck roast because I usually have one in the freezer)
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 (4 oz.) can mushrooms, drained
1 diced onion
1 (1 1/2 oz.) package spaghetti seasoning
8 oz. tomato sauce
optional: 1/2-1 cup red wine (It makes it really, really good!)
1 lb. egg noodles

Place roast in the crockpot. Pour the rest of the ingredients (except egg noodles) over the top. Cook on low 8-10 hours or on high 4-5 hours. Shred roast with a fork. It should shred very easily. If it doesn't, it's not done. Serve over hot, cooked egg noodles.

Family Rating:
Brad: ****
Jordan: ****
Eli: ****
Phoebe: *****
Overall Family Rating: 17/20