Recipe Friday!!!

I have to say that meals around the Lyda house have been a little lack luster the past few weeks. We have been so busy that I haven't had much time to cook like I would like too. Three nights a week I don't get home until 6:15 and Gideon goes to bed between 6:30 and 6:45 which means that we wouldn't be eating until 7:30 or so... that being said I've been all about easy meals. Here is a recipe for super yum fish tacos. I love this recipe because you can make the majority of it before hand. 

Fish Tacos with White Sauce

White Sauce:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayo
1 lime, juiced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1/2 teaspoon oregon
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (add more or less for desired hotness)


Mix the sour cream and mayo together. Then add the lime juice. Stir until smooth and a bit runny. Then add the seasoning. Set aside half of the sauce in the fridge. You will add the other half to the finely shredded cabbage. 


Tacos:
6-8 pieced of panko breaded Tilapia -- found at Costco, or any other fish of your choosing
6-8 flour tortillas
1/2 head cabbage, finely shredded


1. Cook fish @ 425 on a baking sheet for 20 minutes, turning over after 10 minutes. 
2. Put a spoonful of cabbage mixture on a tortilla, the add a piece of fish and then drizzle with white sauce. 

Pretty simple right? Enjoy!!!!

Recipe Friday!!!

We eat a lot of chicken at our house, so I am always looking new ways to fix it. I recently saw a recipe for Breaded Ranch Chicken in the paper but never bothered to write it down. So I just kind of made something up. I looked in The Joy of Cooking cookbook for the baking time. Here is what I came up with... it tasted pretty yummy.

Crummy Ranch Chicken =) 

4 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts 
1 packet of Ranch Dressing, dry
1 cup of Garlic and Herb bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup (ish) butter, melted


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. In a shallow, mix together dressing, bread crumbs, and cheese
3. In a separate shallow dish, melt butter and coat the chicken with butter
4. Roll the chicken in the bread crumb mixture and the place in a greased  9X13 baking dish. 
5. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until internal temp is 165 degrees. 


I also made a favorite of mine that comes out of one of my best friends kitchens. I remember being in college and my friends mom inviting me over for dinner. She would always make these green beans ands send me home with the left overs. I never complained. Jared just asked if they could make the cut for a "Lyda Family Recipe." I hope thats okay Tonya. =)

Swiss Green Beans

1 T. butter
1 T. flour
1 t. salt
1 t. sugar
1/4 t. pepper
1 cup sour cream
2 cans green beans, drained
2 cups grated swiss cheese


Topping:
2 T. butter
1 cup corn flakes




1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Melt 1 T. butter in a sauce pan. Then add dry ingredients until combined, then add sour cream. Heat until bubbly but not boiling.
3. Mix in drained green beans
4. Put mixture in a greased casserole dish. Top with grated swiss cheese.
5. Melt remaining 2 T butter and mix with corn flakes. Cover top of casserole.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.



The great thing about both of these dishes is that you can make them both at the same time. I love everything about that. =)
Happy cooking!!!

Recipe Friday!!!

I made this soup last night.. it was super yummy. It is a great recipe to double and freeze half. Just leave out the potatoes. Enjoy.

Chicken and Corn Chowder

5 slices of bacon (about 1/2 pound)
1/2 a rotisserie chicken (about 4 cups of chicken), shredded
1 Onion, chopped
4 ribs of celery, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
1/4 corn starch
1 1/2 cups frozen whole kernal corn
1 can (14.5 oz) creamed corn
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 red potatoes, peeled and boiled - optional. leave out if freezing
Green onion


Cook bacon and set aside. Save some of the drippings to saute the onion and celery. Mix the corn starch with milk. In a large stalk pot add chicken broth, milk, corn, chicken, potatoes, most of the bacon, onion and celery. Bring soup to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow soup to thicken. Then add in cheddar cheese and serve. Garnish with bacon and green onions




Happy Cooking!

Recipe Friday!!!

I usually make a casserole once a week so that we have leftovers for the week because it seems like something always comes up. I have been trying really hard to stick to meal planning but this time of year it seems very difficult. This is a casserole recipe that is really easy and one of our favorites!!!



Pasta Bake


1 box or package of pasta (I get the 8 pack from Costco and use one of those)
1 jar Alfredo Sauce
1-2 lbs of Sausage - I usually use half hot and half regular or Italian
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 large can sliced olives
water
8 oz. Pepper Jack cheese


1. Brown the Sausage and rinse. 
2. Put the uncooked pasta in a 9x13 baking dish. Add chopped bell pepper, red onion, and olives. Then add the sausage
3. Pour the alfredo sauce over the top. Then add 1-2 jars of water over until the pasta is covered with water. Top with Pepper Jack cheese and bake for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees. 






Happy cooking!!!

Recipe Friday!!!

I am totally lacking for recipe inspiration right now. A little over a week ago, I had to go on a "dairy-free" diet. Gideon has been having some issues and they think it is because he has a milk allergy. It has been super hard on me. I have been starving for the last week.. not really starving. But super hungry because there just isn't a whole lot at our house that I can eat. And eating "dairy-free" is crazy expensive. Dairy is in EVERYTHING!!! If you don't believe me, go look in your pantry and I bet that 80% of what is in there has some sort of dairy in it. There is a whole list of ingredients that I never even knew were dairy. So here I am on a dairy-free diet. I made a big batch of the soup from "The Soup Diet" and every day I just add a few ingredients to it so its not so blah! I guess its a good way to loose the rest of my pregnancy weight. haha. But I am also not looking forward to going to my parents house on Tuesday, where my dad has been baking cookies and treats for a week. All contain butter, therefore, off limits for me. Bahumbug!!! I go back to the doctor on the 27th to get a little more information, so we will see if this has to continue. 


Anyways, on to recipe friday. This recipe is NOT dairy free, but a super yummy recipe that we love!!! Its fairly healthy also. 

Mediterranean Chicken Bake

1 lb chicken breast, cooke and cubed --- I usually substitute 1 lb of rotisserie chicken meat
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium zucchinis cut into 1/8 inch slices
1/2 cup orzo pasta (uncooked)
1/2 cup water
2 plump roma tomatoes, chopped
1 jar (26 oz) roasted tomato and garlic pasta sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
6 sheets frozen phyllo (filo) pastry sheets, thawed from a 1 lb box
3 Tbsp. butter, melted


1. Heat oven to 400 degrees and spray a 2 quart glass casserole with non-stick spray. In a skillet cook chicken for 8-10 minutes, until no longer pink. Then stir in zucchini, onion, pasta and water. Cook 5-6 minutes until veggies are tender crisp. 


2. Stir in tomatoes, pasta sauce, cheese, and Italian seasoning. Spoon mixture into casserole. Brush the top of each phyllo sheet with melted butter. Crumple each sheet and place it on top of mixture. (Reference the picture above for crumpling)


3. Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.


Happy cooking!!!

Recipe Friday!!!

Our friends Sean and Jenny have been talking about this Tomato Pie for quite some time... they said it was delicious. At first I couldn't imagine how it would be. Even as I was making it, I wasn't sure that I was going to like it. Not only did we like it, we loved it! This is going on the list as one of my favorite recipes. I added a few things to the Recipe that I got from Jenny and here is what I got!!!

Tomato Pie

1 9 in' pie crust **
1/2 yellow or red onion, chopped*
3-4 tomatoes, sliced horizontally, squeeze to remove excess juice, the roughly chop
1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced
2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, and or monterey jack)
1 cup mayonnaise
fresh ground salt and pepper


1. Preheat oven to 400 and pre-bake the pie shell for 8-10 minutes
2. place chopped tomatoes, onion, and basil in the pie shell. Cover with salt and pepper
3. Mix mayonnaise with the cheese and spread over the top. 
4. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown on top. 


* Next time I make this, I will double the amount of onions and caramelize them before hand. The onions were pretty raw after it was baked and they kind of over powered the pie. 


**I made my own pie crust for this, but it would be faster to use a pre-made crust. 


Pie Crust - Betty Crocker
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
2-3 tablespoons cold water
1/2 teaspoon salt


1. Mix salt and flour together in a small bowl. 
2. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender or pulling 2 forks in opposite directions until its the size of small peas.
3. Sprinkle with cold water one tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork until pastry is moistened and comes away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Gather pastry and press into a ball. Refrigerate for 45 minutes.
5. Place ball on lightly floured surface and roll out with floured rolling pin until its about 2 inches bigger than pie pan. 
6. Fold pastry into fourths and place in pie pan. Unfold the pastry and trim the overhanging edge 1 inch back from rim of pie pan. 
7. Roll and crease the edge of the pastry even with the edge of the pie pan. 




Happy Cooking!!!

Lettuce wraps

Recipe Friday is back!! 


I made these lettuce wraps a few weeks ago. They were really yummy. I found quite a few recipes and took a few things from all of them and this is what I came up with. 


I will say that although this recipe is quite delicious, it does take a while to prepare. There are just a lot of steps involved. I saved myself about 15 minutes by just buying a rotisserie chicken from Costco and using the meat from that instead of raw chicken breasts. 

Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless Chicken breasts. (or 2 breasts off rotisserie chicken if short on time)
3 tbsp. oil
1 Cup water chestnuts
2/3 Cup mushrooms
3 tbsp. chopped onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
4-5 leaves of iceberg lettuce


Special sauce:
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp. hoisin sauce
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1-3 tsp. Sriracha hot sauce
2 tbsp. ketchup
1 tbsp. hot mustard (mixd with 2 tsp. water)


Stir Frying sauce:
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp. rice wine vinegar


Directions:
1. Start by making the special sauce. Add the sugar to the water and stir until dissolved. Then add hoisin, soy, oil, and vinegar. (You will add the Sriracha and hot mustard to the mix at the end.) Mix well and then put in refrigerator. 
2. Add oil to large frying pan or wok. Add chicken and cook 4-6 minutes on each side until cook trough out. Set aside to cool.
3. Keep oil in the pan hot while you mince water chestnuts, onion, and mushrooms to the size of peas. 
4. Mix soy, brown sugar, and vinegar for stir fry sauce.
5. When the chicken is cool, mince it as you did the vegetables.
6. Add another tbsp of oil to the pan. Then add chicken and vegetables
7. Add stir fry sauce and fry together for 1-2 minutes. 
8. Add mixture to lettuce "cups" and top with special sauce. ( You can also top with chopped peanuts and/or chow mien noodles.)




I hope that you enjoy them as much as we did!


Happy Cooking!!!

Leftovers

I didn't post anything for recipe Friday because I got up SUPER early to take full advantage of Black Friday. I spent the afternoon sleeping and weeping because my parents had left. =( Always a sad day for me when my parents leave. 


I decided that I would post a recipe today instead. I am always looking for good recipes to use up left over meat that I have cooked for a different meal. Since we always have a ton of left over turkey, I thought I'd help you use it all up. Also, it has snowed 19 inches since last week here in Coeur d'Alene so I thought that a soup would be appropriate. Enjoy!!!


Tex-Mex Turkey Soup
Serving: 6


Ingredients:
1 T. Olive Oil
1/2 C. minced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. chili powder 
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. oregano
4 C. water
1 can (10.75 oz) condensed tomato soup
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes 
1 C. salsa
4 C shredded cooked turkey
1 T. parsley 
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 (14 oz) can black beans, rinsed, drained
2 C. frozen corn
1/2 C. sour cream
1/4 C. fresh cilantro


Toppings:
Corn tortilla chips
chopped green onion
shredded Monterey Jack cheese
fresh cilantro
sour cream


Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in large sauce pan over medium heat. Add minced onions cook until onions begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
2. Stir in water, tomato soup, diced tomatoes, salsa, shredded turkey, parsley, and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until bouillon cubes dissolve. Add black beans, corn, sour cream, and cilantro. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. 
3. Serve with crushed tortilla chips, chopped green onion, shredded cheese, and additional cilantro and sour cream. 


Try it out and let me know what you think!!!!


Happy Cooking!