Chicken and Chard Spaghetti Squash Bowl

What? A cooking blog? I haven't done one of these in a long time, but I made a spaghetti squash bowl tonight that the whole family enjoyed. Even P-Rex ate some! Shoot, even Hubskie liked it, and he is not a squash fan.

Lately, I've had Zilla help me with preparing dinner and it has really helped with getting him to eat better. Pro tip...I try to get him involved in preparing the vegetables so he is more inclined to eat them. P-Rex is enjoying preparing his own dishes. We still need to work on his hygiene and mise en place before he gets to help with the real deal  (note pretend food tossed on the floor. When he was cutting his tomato, he decided he needed more room so he just tossed the other food on the floor).

I originally sat down to write this recipe for myself, but then decided to go ahead and put it on the blog in case others would like to try it out. I think it could be turned into a casserole, if you were preparing for more people, by increasing the amount of each ingredient and then broiling in a casserole dish rather than the squash bowls. 

The ingredients below were just the right amount for me, hubskie, and the two boys. 

Chicken and Chard Spaghetti Squash Bowls

Ingredients:

5-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed cut into bite sized pieces

1 bunch swiss or rainbow chard

1 white onion, diced

1 spaghetti squash

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup (or however much you want) shredded Parmesan cheese

1 stick mozzarella string cheese, tear into strings 

olive oil
Lemon juice and/or lemon zest

salt

pepper 

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half and clean out seeds. Brush olive oil on cut sides and season with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet cut/flesh side down. Bake for 45-50 minutes

2) While squash is baking, heat 2 tsp olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add cut chicken thighs. Season with salt and pepper. Cook through

3) De-stem chard and discard stems (or freeze for later use). Tear chard into bite size pieces. Zilla helped with this part and was so proud of himself! He ate every bite of his chard tonight.

3) Once chicken is cooked, add onion. Cook until onion begins to soften, add garlic. Season with salt and pepper

4) Add chard to skillet, add 1/4 cup water and a teaspoon of olive oil. Stir occasionally and let chard wilt. Continue to stir for additional 3-5 minutes. season with salt and pepper (Blue apron taught me to season with salt and pepper at almost every step.) 

5) Remove squash and use forks to pull out the squash "spaghetti" strings. Add to skillet. Leave skin of squash in baking pan, skin side down to use as bowls. Stir to combine. Add lemon juice/zest to taste. I only added a few drops, maybe half a tsp. 

6) Divide mixture in half and add to squash skin bowls. Mix in Parmesan cheese. Top with strings of mozzarella cheese.

7) Place back into oven and switch oven to broil. Leave for 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted and starting to bubble

8) Enjoy!

Eat Your Heart Out

I know, I know, another food post.  But, I've had a couple of weeks off from school so I'm getting to cook a little more often.  Hurray fresh foods!  Both of today's recipes were found on Pinterest. 

Chicken Tacos

This is a crock pot recipe I cooked last Tuesday.  I followed the recipe pretty much exactly as they appeared.  It's from a blog called "Skinny Taste"  They have lots and lots of excellent and healthy recipes. 

Ingredients: 

• 24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast
• 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
• 15 oz can black beans
• 8 oz frozen corn
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder (I used 1 shallot instead)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
• salt to taste

Right after I put all the spices and ingredients into the crock pot, I realized I had left the chicken breast out over the night (not thawing, just out).  So I rushed to the grocery store to buy some new meat.  When I got back I put the chicken in and put the crock pot on low.  

Cooking away!  I didn't go into work that day, so I got to smell the deliciousness all day long!

9.5 hours into cooking I took the chicken out to shred it

I love cooking chicken in a crock pot.  It's soooo tender.  It practically fell apart. 

I put the chicken back in to cook for another 30 minutes 

10 minutes before Jason walked in the door I put some corn tortillas on our comal to get nice and toasty

  Throw in some steamed veggies and voila!

This was a big success.  Next time I'll probably add in a little extra cayenne and possibly some jalepeno.  It also worked great as a left over.  I had it for lunch a couple of times that week. 

Shrimp Penne Rosa and Mushroom Pizza

I used two separate recipes for this dinner.  It was Jason's idea to combine the two recipes, using the pizzas as a vegetable side dish.  Pizza as a side, you say?  Yes, read on!  Jason was also nice enough to help me prep and cook this dinner.  I love cooking with my husband!  We were lucky enough to have our very first home-cooked dinner guest too!  My wonderful sister  :)  She came over to borrow some clothes as she and her husbandy are jetting off to NEW ZEALAND!  Wow!  I'm sure when they return she will be sure to update her blog with lots of pictures.  Okay, now to recipe 1.  We started prepping the pizzas at the same time we put the noodles on to cook.  I'll start with my mistakes so if you're reading this trying to replicate it, you won't make the same mistake I did.  

First, I didn't have enough basil.  This was mostly a result of all the fresh basil I had bought wilting before I made this dish, so I had to salvage what I could. 

Next, I forgot to squeeze the lemon over the stuffed mushrooms before putting them into the oven.  When I found the lemon after we finished eating I thought to myself that this would have been a great addition to the flavor of the dish.  

I also forgot to add the parmigiana cheese to the pasta dish.  I don't think this was a huge loss unless you're really into cheese.  

Finally, I rinsed off the portobellos directly under the water.  The proper way to wash off mushrooms is with a paper towel.  The result of being rushed with water?  They retained a lot of moisture, which all came leaking out while in the oven.

Ingredients for Pizza (adapted from BodyRock.tv; awesome food/workout blog):

4 tomatoes, 4 large portobello mushrooms, 4 cloves of garlic, lemon, 1 leek, 1 onion, fresh basil, parmigiano reggiano cheese, fresh parsley, olive oil, salt.

Sauteing all the veggies.  I substituted jalepenos for the leeks

We spooned out the insides of the mushrooms to make little bowl.  The body rock website doesn't tell you to do this, but I had seen this tip elsewhere and it definitely allowed us to fit in all the toppings. 

Stuffed the mushrooms and placed into oven at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. 

And it was that easy!  A very simple pizza alternative with no bread, lots of fresh veggies, and just a touch of cheese.  

Ingredients for pasta:

• 12 ounces whole wheat penne
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 medium tomatoes (about 1/2 lb.) chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 cups fresh spinach
• 10 ounces medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup marinara sauce
• 1/3 cup 0% plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Sauteing all the veggies! 

Placed the shrimp in with the veggies until cooked.  After this I added the pasta sauce and Greek Yogurt. 

 

Mixed in the pasta and ready to enjoy! 

The final products!  Everything was very delicious.  Even with the watery mushrooms, I think they turned out great.  The pasta was tasty as well.  I love recipes that use Greek yogurt as a substitution.  It's so easy and flavorful.  We definitely got our vitamin D for the day with all the mushrooms we ate  :)  I look forward to eating the pasta for lunch tomorrow!  I also think these little pizzas would make great appetizers for game day.  Noted for the future.  

Until next time, 

The VrlyFries

Where's the Beef?

I have a love affair with vegetables (see my soup recipe), fish, and poultry.  If a meal calls for ground beef I substitute ground turkey.  As it turns out men like red meat.  womp womp.  And as a wife I think I have a duty to make my man happy...hah...I apologize women of the feminist movement.  But seriously, it was time to let Jason know I'm not completely anti beef.  I decided what better time to make a delicious beefy dinner than Jason's Catholic birthday?  One year ago, on April 24th Jason was baptized, confirmed, and received his first communion.  One of the happiest days of my life!  And I think it's important to celebrate this day.  I looked to the cook book Jason registered for at Bed Bath and Beyond (hmmm I think he was trying to tell me something) to find a delicious yet healthy meaty recipe.  This is what I came up with:

Bridal Edition!  That means it has lots of tips for beginners :) 

                   

                    Southwestern Tri-Tip Roast: Spicy, meaty, low fat, and easy...everything I was looking for 

nom nom nom

 I ended up substituting a spicier dried red pepper for the chipotle. I added quite a few of them, keeping Jason's love for spicy in mind.  

I put the rub on the night before and let it sit over night and through the day .  When I got home we popped it in the oven while Jason and I went for a swim at our apartment's lap pool.  

Cheesy scalloped potatoes.  Not healthy, but very tasty 

The finished product! 

I think it was a little underdone, but the rub was delicious.  The meat had also sat in the freezer for a couple of weeks so it was a little tough.  Next time I'll buy the meat closer to the time I use it so there's no freezer time.  This meal also works great as a leftover.  Jason had a delicious sandwich the next night.  

 Mother's Day Feast

Following Jason Wagner's graduation (WHOOP)

  

 We headed to Houston to visit Jason's mom for Mother's Day!

We decided to fix a Mother's Day Feast on Sunday Night consisting of New York Strip Steaks, salad, baked new potatoes and corn and ice cream for dessert.  

Jason was in charge of the meat.  He put on a simple spice rub and tossed them on the grill

Fresh salad: spinach, red leaf lettuce, summer squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and green onions

Potatoes and Corn with olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, garlic, oregano, and whatever else Jason put on it :)  Placed in oven covered for about 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees 

Oh yes, and we had jumbo shrimp cocktail! 

The Feast! 

Finished steaks.  They were cooked to a perfect  medium rare 

And dessert...yum! 

 And there you have it!  We will be having these leftovers for dinner tonight.  I'm pretty excited about it. 

Crafty Becca

Side, non food related story:  Sometimes I get this rush of a desire to be crafty.  This time it came in the form of making wedding shower invitations.  Jason always laughs when these hit because it usually goes like this:  I have this really awesome idea; look at this design; purchase all the materials; get 10% done; okay I'm tired of being crafty.  And then I beg him to help me finish my project :)  Lucky for me he does always help me.  And the finished product was pretty cute;  I was pleased with our work.  

Finished product ready to go into the envelope (Kendall don't read the date ideas.  Okay thnx ) 

Also, this is our refrigerator right now...ahhhhh busy summer.  Good news is, not all of those are invites.  Phew.   Also, yes that is the news paper article I was mentioned in hanging on our refrigerator like I'm in 4th grade and just got an A. Back off.  

That's all for now.  Until next time

The VrlyFries

Spring Break (and beyond) Cook Off

Okay, now, let's talk food.  For the first time since getting married I actually feel like a wife this week.  I mean there have been bits and pieces of feeling "wifey" but this week I've gotten to devote myself a little more to those things which usually get pushed aside so I can do school work. Mostly, I'm getting to make a home made meal each night this week!  This weekend I gathered some recipes and went grocery shopping on Sunday.  I love getting to buy fresh products and ingredients rather than Lean Cuisines and canned soup.  On the line up for the week: 

Monday: Jalapeno Pesto Pasta

Tuesday: Turkey Chili

Wednesday: Bottom Sirloin Roast

Thursday: Crock pot stuffed peppers

Jalapeno Pesto Pasta

I adapted this recipe from a youtube video for a healthier (lower fat/higher protein) pesto recipe.  It can be found here .  The biggest difference between this recipe and typical pesto recipes is this one cuts the amount of olive oil used by more than half and has no parmesan cheese.  Instead, the recipe uses white northern beans. In addition to these ingredients I tossed in two whole jalapenos in the blender.  I also made chicken strips to add to the pasta.  I marinated the chicken in light italian dressing, oregano, and garlic.  After this I dumped the bag into a skillet and cooked the chicken on low heat until done.  After everything was made I added the pesto and the chicken to whole wheat penne pasta. 

Chicken in marinade

Must use fresh basil!

White beans rinsed and drained

Cooking the chicken with a sliced jalapeno

Blended pesto

Sliced tomato 

Chicken done!

Combine the ingredients and enjoy! 

Result:  I really liked this dish and I think Jason also enjoyed it.  It really surprised me how the beans gave the pesto the creaminess you would usually expect from the cheese and extra olive oil.  The dish also worked well as leftovers (I had it for lunch the next day).  Next time I think I'll also add garlic in the blender when I'm making the pesto.  

Turkey Chili

Tuesday I made my first try at making chili.  Jason loves  chili, so I was feeling the pressure to produce.  My family has a recipe that we have labeled "Aunt Kelly's Chili."  It once won first prize in a boy scout chili cook-off.  I had asked my mom for this recipe a few months ago but never got around to giving it a go.  While at Zest Fest we picked up a "chili mix" which came with a little recipe booklet.  I decided to mash up some of these recipes with my family recipe.  Essentially, I used all the spices from Aunt Kelly's Chili and some of the add-ins of the vegetarian chili recipe I got from Zest Fest.  I also decided to switch out ground beef for ground turkey.  

All the ingredients.  Brown ground turkey first. 

Chopped  1 large white onion

Throw all ingredients (except beans) into pot and cover over medium low heat for 35 minutes

Add in the beans and heat for additional 10 minutes.  Serve. 

 Results:  We loved this!  We did end up adding some scorpion sauce to make it a little spicier.  We also had Jalapeno Beer Bread from the Czech Bakery in West, TX on the side.  This was Jason's idea, and it was the perfect addition to the Chili.  Jason will be taking some of the leftovers to work on Wednesday and report back on how it tastes reheated.  

Wednesday: Sirloin Roast 

Okay, I ended up forgetting some important prep parts of this recipe and thus it has been delayed.  I still have a very delicious roast sitting in our freezer that I cannot wait to use!

Thursday: ...

Okay Thursday was supposed to be the stuffed peppers, but then I remembered we were supposed to go to my mom's for dinner.  We ended up having a southwestern dish there as well so it worked out.  

Two weeks later and:

Stuffed Peppers!

I completely forgot to take pictures of making this dish.  Thanks to Jason's foresight he took a picture with his cell phone camera a sent it to me, so I did at least get the above picture.  This was a fairly simple dish.  First, I cut the tops off the bell peppers and pulled out the seeds.  Next in a large mixing bowl I combined ground turkey, brown rice, red onion, oregano, parsley, basil, chili powder, and garlic.  Then I stuffed the peppers!  Next I put them all into the crock pot and poured hot Pace Picante salsa over each of them as well as about 3/4 cup water.  Turn the crock pot on low and let cook until Jason got home.  Sigh.  I love that crock pot  :) 

Result:  Both Jason and I really enjoyed this.  They were probably a little overdone, but still very flavorful.  I think next time I will make one or two vegetarian or seafood stuffed peppers.  The ground turkey was tasty, but I can see myself enjoying something a little lighter.  

Final note,  I started writing my wedding blog post.  It won't be up for a little while as I'm still waiting on pictures, but when it does arrive there will probably be about 10 separate posts for it.  Get excited!  Or nauseated :)  

Until next time

The VrlyFries  

Cooking Update Before the Big Spring Break Post

I've got a post in the works that will chronicle my Spring Break cooking adventures, but first I want to catch up with some meals I never posted.  

First, before I get into the real purpose of this post can I just say

I'm a Fry!!!  Exactly 1 year and 1 day after Jason proposed, we now have the same last name.  Tomorrow I will get my new driver's license and from there it's just a matter of changing over my car title...changing my insurance...getting my bank account settled...getting my employer transferred to my new bank account...and letting the school know.  I'm probably forgetting something, please let me know if you think of anything else I need to do.  

Jamaican Chicken

This is actually something Jason made for me on one of my late school nights.  

We bought this sauce at Zest Fest and Jason used it in his marinade

Another Zest Fest item used in the marinade 

Extra special rice jason seasoned and cooked in the rice cooker

Giant Chicken Breasts baked in the oven  (I've recently decided that I only want to by organic chicken breast after eating these.  There's just no reason for the chicken breast to be this big)

Edamame steamed in the rice cooker

Edamame seasoned by Jason 

The finished product! Yum! 

 Result: Jason did a great job.  It was super spicy, but also super flavorful.  

Spicy Mustard Cod

I honestly can't remember what all I marinated the fish in.  I do remember including a mustard we bought from Kroger called "inglehoffer sweet hot pepper mustard"  I then threw on some spices, topped it with a little bit of Gouda cheese, and popped it into our toaster oven.  I also steamed some bell peppers and onions for a vegetable.  

Finished product 

 Come back at the end of the week to see all the yummies Jason and I had during my Spring Break!