Asian Beef with Snowpeas

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted. I've been sick. Serves me right, as I've been bragging to everyone how I've made it this whole season without catching anything, while everyone around me has been sick two and three times. Damn you winter!

Chinese food is something I rarely get to eat because Brian doesn't care for it. I've never really made any Asian flare dishes so I'm stepping out of my comfort zone. I have to say this recipe was pretty good, although Brian liked it a little more than I did. However, this is a great quick and easy week night recipe. I think next time I'll use sirloin steak because the top round can be a little tough. I found this recipes on allrecipes.com, and added the red peppers to give it more color and flavor.

Ingredients:
3 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs rice wine
1 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbs minced fresh ginger root
1 tbs minced garlic
1 lb beef round steak cut into thin strips
8 oz snow peas

In a small bowl, cobime soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar and corn starch. Set aside.

Heat oil in a wok or skillet over medium high heat. Stir fry ginger and garlic for 30 seconds. Add steak and stir fry for 3 minutes or until evenly browned. Add the snow peas and stir fry for an additional 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce mixture, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower heat and simmer until the sauce is thick and smooth. Serve over white rice.

Mexican Sausage Wontons

These little bites of heaven are in high demand. This recipe was given to me by Brian's sister and I've passed it on to many more people as someone is always asking me for this recipe. Watch out though, they are very filling. When I made them for SSCC, we were literally in a food coma by the end of the night because we ate so many of them.

Ingredients:

1 package of regular Jimmy Dean Sausage

1 8oz bottle of Hidden Valley Light Ranch

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup of pickled jalenpenos, diced

1 package of wonton wrappers (usually found in the produce section near the tofu and packaged veggies)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray non stick cooking spray in a muffin pan. Insert wrappen into muffin pan so they form cups. Bake for 5-6 minutes and then remove the wrappers from the pan onto a baking tray. Continue until all wrappers are cooked.

Fry the sausage in a frying pan, breaking it apart with a spatula. Cook until no longer pink. Drain sausage (I usually let it sit on a paper towel for a good 10 minutes to adsorb more of the grease).

Combine cooked sausage, ranch and cheese in a bowl. Fill the wrappers with the mixture and place a small piece of jalepeno on top. I don't put jalenpenos on a couple for those who don't like them. Cook them for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbling. If you are brining to a party, just prepare the filled wontons and cook them before you are going to serve them as they are best right out of the oven.

Chicken Piccata

I struggle with posting some of my recipes because when I cook it's usually a little of this and a little of that. I rarely measure anything unless I'm making it for the first time. So when I made chicken piccata the other night I made an effort to watch how much of each ingredient I was using. This recipe was passed on to me by my mother. It's absolutely delicious but the way she makes it clogs your arteries just looking at it. So I've scaled back on the butter and oil a bit, however, it's still not considered "light" by any means!

This recipe is great for dinner parties as well. If I make it in advance I'll use cut up chicken breasts instead of cutlets and I'll reserve the sauce until I'm about to serve it so it does not get dry. I serve it over penne or ziti.

Ingredients:
1 package of chicken cutlets, washed and patted dry
1/3 cup of flour
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbs olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup lemon (usually two lemons)
1/2 cup of white cooking wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp capers (optional)
1 tsp butter

Wash and pat dry the chicken cutlets. Mix flour, salt, pepper and paprika. Dredge chicken in the flour and shake off excess flour. Heat oil in pan. Put cutlets in pan and sautee until brown, about 4 minutes each side. If you don't have a pan big enough to fry all the cutlets at once, fry them in batches. Place cooked cutlets on a cooling rack (prevents them from getting soggy) or a plate.

Add a little more oil to pan and sautee garlic until lightly brown. Pour in chicken broth and scrap up the brown bits from the pan with a fork. Add wine and lemon and bring to a boil. Add parsley and capers. Let sauce simmer for 1-2 minutes or until thickens. If you want to thicken sauce more wisk in cornstarch a teaspoon at a time. Add the butter. Simmer for another 3 minutes or until butter is melted.

Plate the cutlets over rice or pasta and spoon sauce over.

The House Salad

I make a salad pretty much every night of the week not because I don't know what else to make but because I love salads. But not any type of salad, I love my salad, or should I say my Nana's salad. And it's so simple and fresh. I'm kind of a snob when it comes to salad, I don't do bottled dressings and I don't like salad from a bag. I mean I'll eat it if someone else is serving it but I can taste the difference. My salad spinner gets more use than any other tool in my kitchen - although my microplane grater is a close second. There are a couple basics about salad.

1) Don't reach for the bagged lettuce - sure it will save you some time but you'll definitely sacrfice in flavor. My favorite lettuce is red leaf, romaine being my second choice. The only lettuce I'll buy bagged is spinach. And you'll never see a head of iceburg lettuce in my house!

2) Toss those bottled salad dressing - I hate pretty much any bottled salad dressing. I normally just use red wine vinegar and olive oil, or at least start with this as a base and build from there by adding shallots, garlic, lemon, etc.

3) Red onions - I don't eat red onions and neither does Brian. But they're essential to the flavor of the salad. Once my salad is washed, I'll put the lettuce in the bowl with a couple slivers of red onions and let it sit for a couple minutes before I dress the salad!

4) Sea salt - not regular salt, not kosher salt, SEA salt is a must. Not much, just a little to give it that extra flavor. I have been known to use Crazy Janes salt, which is basically sea salt with additional herbs.

5) Toppings - typically the O'Neil house salad has one topping, FETA CHEESE. When Brian is not looking I'll put goat cheese in there instead to spice it up. But really there are tons of things you can add to this salad - my favorties being avacados and home made croutons.

6) The bowl - it really does matter what bowl you serve your salad in. It might sound crazy but my salad tastes different depending on what bowl I use. The typical salad bowl I use is shallow, which allows the dressing to be evenly distributed, instead of all running to the bottom of the bowl.

I warned you I was a salad snob.

Stuffed Peppers

I'm trying my hardest to reduce the amount of meat Brian and I consume, but let me tell you, it's hard. Brian is very much a meat and potatoes type of guy - and me, well I'm a carb lover. Now that the winter months are coming to an end (hey, a girl can hope, right?) those bikini and speedo days are in sight. So we're back on the wagon, the diet wagon that is.

This stuffed pepper recipe is very versatile. You can add chicken, ground turkey or no meat at all. You can add any type of cheese, feta, goat or mozzarella. I've adapted this creation from a recipe I found on allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:
2 cup water
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
2 green bell peppers, halved and seeded
2 red bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in the rice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.

Place the peppers cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Roast 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender and skin starts to brown.

While the peppers are roasting, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook for 5 minutes. Spoon in the cooked rice and cooked chicken, and stir until heated through. Remove from heat, mix in the feta cheese, and spoon the mixture into the pepper halves.

Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Ziti with Asparagus, Smoked Mozzarella and Prosciutto

All I have to say is YUM! This has to be one of my favorite Giada dishes for a couple of reasons. 1) It's light - there are no heavy sauces, not a lot of oil and you can even scale back on the prosciutto if you really want to (although I never do!) 2) It's quick - I can throw this nice meal together during the week without spending hours slaving over a hot stove 3) It's pretty - if you're entertaining, people will definitely like the looks of this meal and probably even ask you for the recipe. And come on...who the heck doesn't like asparagus, smoked mozzarella and prosciutto?

Ingredients:
Salt
8 ounces dried ziti or other tubular pasta
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
3 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, diced (about 1/2 cup)
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut crosswise into strips
3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ziti and cook for 7 minutes, stirring often. Add the asparagus and cook until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, and the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain the pasta and asparagus, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the pasta, asparagus, 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and the 1 cup of reserved cooking liquid, and toss to coat. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the mozzarella, prosciutto, and basil and toss to combine. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the pasta to shallow bowls and serve.

*Note - you can use regular mozzarella but I highly recommend buying smoked if you can. It can be found with all the imported cheese in the deli section of your grocery store.

The Good, Bad and the Ugly...Oh and the Artichoke Dip too!

The Good:

Saturday I had some girlfriends over to celebrate my 31st b-day. We iniciated a new rule this year, we'd throw in $20 each and buy the person one bigger gift instead of 5 smaller gifts. We'd also go out for dinner and do something fun like we've always been doing. So for my b-day I asked for a karaoke machine...kinda half kidding and half serious. I had asked Brian for one but he wouldn't cave, and now I understand why (I've been singing to him non stop since Saturday night.)

They got me pretty good though. Brian started out this week by saying the girls weren't getting me a karaoke machine and he'd buy one for me. I wasn't totally convinced of this. Then on Thursday he said the one I wanted was too much money and they couldn't swing it. I think at one point I suggested he give them some money to help defray the costs, but I digress. Lots of expensive things are going on with my friends - closing on houses, upcoming weddings, etc. so the money thing made sense.

Fast forward to Saturday night. My spirits were already down (wait until you read "the Bad") but I knew my time with the girls was going to be the pick me up I needed (still not believing what Brian was saying). So then Cicco walks in the pizza and a box. A smaller box. Definitely not a box that a karaoke machine would come in. I guess, from what my friends say, my face dropped (and this doesn't surprise me because I have a hard time faking emotions) because I was like...CRAP Brian was right, oh no I already pretty much announced on the blog that my friends were giving me a great present, etc. Then during dinner Rocco says "did we tell her yet that she's not getting her present?" I cut her off right there and announce that Brian had already told me the news, no big deal, I understand yadda yadda yadda. They tell me I got something, just on a smaller scale. I was thinking okay, maybe it's just a microphone or a gift certificate. So anyways, we go on with eating and chatting and finally, present time comes. I start opening the smaller present. Everyone is looking at me saying,"what do you think it is?" I open the box and it's empty! Nothing but tissue paper! Then behind the door DC and Brock roll out this HUGE box and I realize I've been punk'd! Finally, my karaoke machine. From there the fun began.

The Bad:

So rewind to Saturday day. I woke up around 9:30 and start dusting, sweeping, laundry, etc. to prepare for my guests. Around 3:30, I hop in the shower. After, I ask Brian to go down and get the laundry. He opens the basement door and yells some four letter words. There's water in the basement. There's actually a small kiddie pool in our basement. So we get the towels and mop out and start cleaning it up. Brian decides to wash the towels that we just used to wipe up the water. We go on about our business, I guess thinking it was a fluke and it wouldn't happen again. About 2 minutes left on the spin cycle, Brian opens the door to the basement and yells some four letter words. There's water in the basement...AGAIN. I still had to go to the grocery store to buy the ingredients for my artichoke dip so he said he'd clean it up. So I leave for the grocery store. When I get back, the shower is running, and I assumed Brian was in there taking a shower so I start talking to him but there's no answer. From the basement, Brian yells, SHUT OFF THE WATER. So you're probably asking yourself,"how long is it going to take them to figure out they've got a problem?" The answer - a couple times. So Brian HAS to take a shower. So I stay down in the basement while he takes the fastest shower in his life (Brian's usually in the shower for a good 20 minutes.) Sure enough...more water. For shits and giggles, I ask him to flush the toilet. Then the mother load....it's like a fountain of water spewing from the pipe. Thank goodness we had a really BIG bucket. We stop...and think...we've got a problem.

Brian then goes on to tell me I'll have to cancel my party. Fat chance mister...I'm getting this karaoke machine come hell or high water (literally)! So we call the town to see if they can make an emergency house call. I call and leave a message for someone to call me back. Well no one ever does until noon the next day when we figured out the answering service took down the wrong number! I could kill her. We called a couple times and she blamed the town, saying "they must have turned off their pagers." So needless to say, everyone still came over, no one peed and we used paper plates. IMO, the party was still a success.

The Ugly:

What the heck happened to the Patriots? You know - that team that was supposed to go undefeated, 19-0? They did not play on Sunday. I don't know who those men in tight pants were out there but that sure wasn't our beloved Brady. I won't act like I know (or give) to hoots about football. I like the Superbowl for the commercials, half time performances and most of all the food. But I have to say this game kept my attention, I was on the edge of my seat, and could not believe what I was seeing. When the Giants scored the final touchdown, our house went silent, for what seemed like hours. A house filled with about 10 people and you could hear a pin drop. We were, and still are, in disbelief.

and the Artichoke Dip:

And if you are still with me - on to the reason why I blog, the food! I've tasted a lot of artichoke dips in my day and I have to say this is probably the best - well besides the one at Cottonwoods. But it's definitely a close second. Try it and let me know if you like it as much as I do!

The Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

pepper to taste

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

3/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a small baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach (do not squeeze all of the water out of spinach and artichokes or else the dip will be dry.) Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with parmesan cheese. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

And some pictures for those who are interested.

Garlic Green Beans

I was reviewing the recipes I've posted and noticed that I've yet to post any veggie recipes. It's not because we don't eat them, it's just because during the week I mostly serve a salad as our veggie. My taste buds have changed over the years. When I was younger I wouldn't eat any veggies. I blame my mother mostly for this because she would always say "Nikki, eat your vegetables, it'll put hair on your chest." I was scared that I would literally start growing hair on my chest. And to top it off, being Italian, hair was a sore subject for me since I pretty much had to start shaving when I was in the 3rd grade! So to all those moms out there - don't tell your little girl she'll become a hairy beast if she eats her vegetables.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of green beans trimmed

1 tbs minced shallots

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 tsp of olive oil

Salt to taste

Cook green beans in boiling water for about 5-6 minutes. Drain beans and either dump the beans in cold water or just run cold water over them to stop them from continuing to cook. In a pan, sautee garlic and shallots in the olive oil until fragrant - about 1 minute. Transfer cooked beans into the pan and sautee for about 3 minutes. Add salt (kosher salt or sea salt) to taste.