Category Archives: Main Course

Spaghetti Pie

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 26 September, 2013 None comments

 

Last night for dinner I choose to make Spaghetti Pie. This family favorite has been passed down from my mom. I remember growing up loving this dish. It’s the type of meal that taste even better the next day. My husband made chili this weekend and we had left overs as well, we both discussed how meals such as spaghetti and chili taste so scrumptious the following day. This prompted me to make spaghetti pie this week as the weather has changed it’s a great time for it.

I’s super easy to make and a great freezer meal as well.

Ingredients:

  • 6oz spaghetti
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 well beaten eggs
  • 1 cup of cottage cheese
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 6oz can tomato paste
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • oregano
  • garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350

Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain and return to pot while adding butter and parmesan cheese. Mix well. In a small dish beat eggs and add to mixture.

Form spaghetti mixture into a well greased pie plate. Spread cottage cheese on top.

Meanwhile, cook meat and onion until browned. Stir in undrained tomatoes, paste, sugar, oregano, and garlic; heat through. Pour on top of noodles and bake for 20-25 minutes, add mozzarella cheese and bake until melted and light brown.

Serve with garlic bread and fresh salad.

 

 

Veggie Burgers

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 20 September, 2013 None comments

My dad came down to help build our laundry room. He raised the ceiling, added walls, sheetrock, electrical and much more. I did have a helping hand as my husband was out of town for work; I was standing on a ladder, holding a HUGE, HEAVY piece of sheetrock above my head while my dad nailed it down. There were a couple moments I questioned what would happen if I dropped it, that would not have been a pretty site, my thoughts led me back around to that NOT being an option. My arms were burning; the weight upon my shoulders while holding this wobbly giant on a wiggly ladder was definitely a lot of pressure as I knew dropping this would be a disaster and prolong the process immensely. If you know much about me, I hate heights and wiggly heights none the less. I also have what I call Popeye and buh-bye arms. I get the Popeyes from carrying my son, and the buh-byes haven’t changed. J This technique with my dad challenged the buh-byes rather than the Popeyes I already had.

 

While he was here he was sharing with me his new invention of yummy veggie burgers amidst our love for beefy beef burgers. He actually made it sounds pretty tasty and worth trying. Take a look and see…

 

I make my own buns and this is the recipe I use. Depending on my mood and what I am making I add either poppy seeds or cheddar cheese and mix it directly into the dough.

Buns:

  • 3/4 c. hot water
  • 2 T. oil
  • 2 T. sugar
  • 2 t. instant yeast
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1 egg
  • 3-4 cups flour
  • Poppy seed (optional)
  • Cheddar Cheese (optional)

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all the ingredients in a standing mixture; I use Kitchen Aid.  Beat till smooth and flour is fully mixed throughout. Add enough flour where the dough is slightly sticky, but doesn’t stick to your finger. Knead for about 5 minutes. If you are adding poppy seeds or cheddar cheese add this now. Divide into 8 portions and roll into 8 balls. Place on well greased cookie sheet and press down with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly. Cover with a tea towel and let rise till doubled. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

 

Insides:

  • Avocado
  • Tomato
  • Cucumbers
  • Onion
  • Pickles
  • Lettuce
  • Blue Cheese crumbles
  • Blue cheese dressing

 

Slice the buns in half and brush with butter and garlic, broil in the oven or BBQ until lightly crispy. Spread Blue cheese dressing on each side of the bun and sprinkle blue cheese crumbles on top. Add slice avocado, tomato, onion, pickles and lettuce and enjoy.

 

Sounds simple and it is, and it’s very tasty. Thanks to my dad! :)

 

Buffalo Chicken Wrap

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 17 September, 2013 None comments

So due to our sewer getting fixed and the manure pile being carried in garbage bags through our living room, I decided the smell is a complete diet trick and dinner may not be cooked tonight. (Click here to read about our sewer) Well, I actually can’t even use our sink due to the pipe being broken so I am going to resort to Buffalo Chicken Wraps tonight for an easy quick dinner since we all will need to eat at some point. Now I truly am not hungry as the smell is filling our house and making it seem as though it’s a stable and not a house anymore, but when that point comes this will be roughly a ten minute meal.

I buy rotisserie chickens from Costco as they do not pump hormones into their chickens, they are huge and produce a lot of meat and most of all provide quick meals on the go. I also buy white corn tortillas from Costco as they are very healthy, very few ingredients and they don’t fall apart when you roll them up. I normally buy white flour tortillas but had a sample of this and they are so tasty and better for you.

To be honest, I attempted one for lunch but quickly lost my appetite.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps:

  • White Corn Tortillas
  • Romaine Lettuce
  • Provolone Cheese
  • Sliced Tomatoes
  • Rotisserie Chicken
  • Franks Wing Sauce

Heat chicken in microwave for 30 seconds and toss chicken in a bowl with ¼ cup wing sauce and coat evenly. Depending on spice add more or less sauce that fits your taste buds. Coat a skillet with a little EVOO and place tortilla in pan and allow to lightly brown. This will make it taste more like a burrito than a cold chicken wrap. Place toppings in tortilla, wrap up and enjoy.

Serving with sautéed kale as we are addicted to this side lately and it’s so healthy for you!

Quick Mango Shrimp

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 5 September, 2013 None comments

Yummy yum yum!!! Last night I needed a quick dinner in the midst of the chaos of this week. We have a lot of food in the freezer such as hot dogs, beef, turkey, chicken, shrimp, scallops, salmon, and much more. What was I going to make that sounded good? I decided to throw shrimp in a saucepan with EVOO and some seasonings, once cooked I added chopped mango and served over a quinoa rice blend. It was so simple, delicious, healthy and filling. These three simple ingredients were very good together.

Ingredients:

  • Shrimp
  • Mango
  • Rice, quinoa, barley

Boil water and cook grain of choice and follow package instructions. In a saucepan add shrimp, garlic salt and parsley for flavor. Cook shrimp till mostly pink, turn the heat on low and add mango chunks. The shrimp will continue to cook as you are heating the mango through, if you overcook the shrimp it will become chewy. Once headed through remove from heat and pour over rice and serve.

I served this dish with a side of sautéed kale and it filled us up. Cooper ate about 6-7 shrimp along with some mango, he loved it.

Chicken Pot Pie

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 31 August, 2013 None comments

Today we were headed out to the ocean while we encountered an accident that held us up for roughly 20 minutes. A little farther along we hit stopped traffic headed to Cannon Beach. We immediately made the decision to turn towards Tillamook as if we kept going than our options wouldn’t be there. We simply wanted a day to take our son to play in the sand for his first time. It’s Labor Day weekend and since most people leave for the weekend we thought Saturday we would be safe for traveling. Our beach trip turned into an adventure exploring new places we have never been before. We went to the Cheese Factory which was really fun for us as I learned that “Viola” actually is pronounced “why-la” as I was reading about the process of cheese I made a verbal assumption of pronouncing “viola” as it looks. My husband corrected me and then hysterically started laughing which in turn made me cry of laughter. We got quite the kick out of this as there were crowds of people to oversee this scenario.

I guess it is true you learn something new every day. Although this one was pretty funny as I was reading the words my head wanted to read “why-la” as it would flow with the sentence, although my brain corrected itself and read the word as it sounded which completely confused me even more. A quick moment of transition in my head made a great laugh for the day.

After the Cheese Factory we headed towards a couple beaches that were packed and the temperature dropped 10 degrees. We decided we would keep driving until we found a beach Cooper could actually play on. We ended up at Rockaway Beach which actually was very large and spacious. Lots of puppies running around, picnics to be had, and little ones building sand castles; this was the perfect stop. Cooper had lots of wiggles to get out as he had been in the car far too long. We parked the stroller up against a log and laid a blanket out for some lunch. He was so overjoyed with all his new surroundings that he possibly couldn’t find the time to eat a couple bites. Daddy ran in the ocean with him, chased a few waves, built sand castles and made a puddle that he decided was the perfect spot to sit. He LOVED the beach.

His diaper was soaked, heavy and filled with sand. He had sand everywhere including his little eyes, we ended the day with him crying from the sand in his eyes as we tried to change him into jammies (pj’s) for the ride home. We knew he was good and worn out and would sleep really well. It was such a joy to take our son to the beach and watch him see all new things and expand the little brain of his. Precious, priceless and wishing I could bottle up these moments.

We got home about 7pm and little man desperately needed a bath, food, and bed. We accomplished this while I scrambled to throw dinner on for Michael and I. While Michael bathed him I decided to make a quick chicken pot pie with leftover rotisserie chicken that needed to be used.

Oh my goodness, this was absolutely amazing!!! Definitely a great crust and fillings with magnificent flavors.

Crust: (similar to my Egg Tart recipe)

  • 2 ½ cups flour
  • 1 cup cold butter
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 3-4 tbsp water

Filling:

  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cup frozen carrots
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 1 cup Rotisserie Chicken
  • 1 cup Edamame Beans
  • 1 TBSP Chicken Better Than Bouillon
  • 4 TBSP Flour
  • 1-2 cups Milk, depending on how thick your mixture is

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May add additional broccoli and cauliflower as well or anything else you want

4 TBSP flour for thickening agent

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Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Blend together in a food processor the flour and butter until crumbly, add sugar and water. Dough will be sticky. Roll out on floured surface and knead in additional flour until able to roll without sticking to rolling pin. Divide in half and roll out big enough for a pie plate. Place in greased pie plate and roll remainder out. Meanwhile in a large saucepan add all vegetables and heat through. Once thawed add in diced cooked chicken. Heat through.

Add in chicken broth, milk and flour starting with 4 TBSP, if it’s not thick enough add a little more a little at a time. Let thicken on low heat for five minutes. Dump mixture into pie plate and top with pie top. Place in oven and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden brown crust.

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Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

*Could also be made vegetarian.

You could make this and freeze while pie crust is uncooked. When ready to serve, take out of freezer and bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until the middle is bubbly and crust is golden brown.

Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 18 August, 2013 None comments

We didn’t have much in our cupboards the last few days except a plethora of hot dogs. I love hot dogs but simply wasn’t in the mood for a baseball meal. I decided since we had hot dogs and bacon I would combine the two. This meal was actually a huge hit and was super easy. My husband ate two dogs and wanted a third one, but I convinced him he couldn’t eat it because I needed it for his lunch the next day. :)

 

The bad part to this evening was that my son was eating dinner with us and although he had a rough day due to teething he hadn’t eaten much. I was trying anything and everything to get some nutrition into his little body. My husband decided to give him a bite of hot dog; I’ve heard they are choking hazards but he is 14 months old and has a couple teeth. Well, this was a terrible decision. My little man somehow inhaled his bite and it was sitting right on his windpipe that he freaked out. He could let a little cry out every couple of seconds but his face was terrified, the cry sounded as something was not right. My mother instincts decided to quickly pull him out of his highchair even though a little whimper was still able to squeak out. All of a sudden his squeak turned to silence and his face turned beat red and was drooling pretty heavily at this point. I had him tummy down over my arm and was patting his back. Granted, I don’t know how hard I was hitting his little back due to the panic I was experiencing. All of a sudden my husband said “there we go” and the chunk of hot dog flew to the floor. This chunk of hot dog was somehow large and roughly an inch all around. I’m not sure how he got that much and how it quickly got lodged into his little throat but it was SCARY.

 

Needless to say, my fear was through the roof and my silence overtook. I embraced him the rest of the night before bed and poor little man was thrown off the rest of the night. Poor baby. I hate choking and yet we’ve had a few scares the last 14 months. He hasn’t mastered the task of chewy quite yet, but he will in due time.

 

Note to self: Don’t feed your little baby hot dogs!

 

Ingredients:

  • Hot dogs
  • Turkey Bacon
  • Buns (I used buns from the bakery)
  • ½ large red pepper
  • ½ large orange pepper
  • ½ large yellow Pepper
  • ½ onion
  • 2 large mushrooms chopped

I wrapped the hot dogs with bacon and placed them on a cookie sheet and set aside. Meanwhile, I sautéed peppers, onion and mushrooms with a little EVOO and a pinch of salt and pepper.

 

Broil hot dogs on high or 550 degrees until bacon is crisp, roughly 10 minutes depending on your oven. Slice bun open and lightly spread mayo on the bun and cover the hot dog with pepper mixture. Very simple yet so delicious. Serve with salad or potato chips.

Mini Pita Pizzas

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 21 July, 2013 None comments

I made homemade Pita the other day and ended up using them for individual pita pizzas. They were delicious! I made some with pesto sauce and some with red sauce; the pesto was perfect and tasted so much better than the red. Must try this recipe with my homemade-pesto and Pita.

 

Ingredients:

  • 6 individual Pitas
  • 1 8oz package of salami
  • 1 8oz package of pepperoni
  • 1 8oz package of mozzarella cheese
  • Pesto

 

Spread pesto on pita, top with salami, pepperoni, and sprinkle cheese on top to hold on toppings. Place on a cookie sheet and broil for 5 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

 

Serve with fresh chopped salad.

Creamy Chicken Sausage over Rice

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 25 May, 2013 None comments

Due to the rain the last couple days I wanted something warm and comforting for dinner. Something cozy for days like this is always satisfying to my palate. Although with moving I haven’t had a lot of time to plan meals while taking care of our 11 month old. It seems our cupboards and refrigerator has become quite empty lately.

I must say after the heat the last few weeks, I do enjoy a cool day to bring our household temperature back to 68 degrees. Living in Portland it is not very common to find homes with AC, because it’s truly only needed at most a couple months out of the year. Those couple weeks make AC worth every penny in my opinion. Although I did grow up in central Washington where AC is like water; you find it in every home. Anyway, since the heat decided to take a backseat today, I set aside the summer pasta salad, fruit salads, and BBQ recipes and took every opportunity to make something warm and use my Crockpot to pretended it was Autumn outside.

Going to the grocery store has been very unexciting to me lately and I have been avoiding this for awhile. I just haven’t quite been feeling up to it with all the errands I’ve been running lately, and moving has become very taxing on me, or shall I say my son. I get more excited to rush home and put little man down for a nappy-poo (aka nap).

We have two weeks until we are officially out of our current home. This has been a bit harder for the hubby than for me, due to the attachment and the reality that he has lived here four years longer than I. Although it is our first home together and as a family it will be bitter sweet.

Anyway, this afternoon I decided to throw a frozen chicken breast in the Crockpot unsure of what I was going to make but figured this had to be a good start for something tasty. You can’t really go wrong with seasoned chicken. As the afternoon progressed I decided I would throw a couple apple sausages from Costco in there as well, and at that point I knew dinner absolutely couldn’t go wrong. First, the crockpot is my best friend especially on busy days. Second, I love sausage and could eat it every day of the week and well, chicken is a staple for most households who are animal lovers.

This meal is super easy and truly takes no time at all. Quick and delicious.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Chicken breast
  • 2 Apple Sausages
  • 2 cans Cream of Chicken
  • ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • Rice or Egg Noodle Pasta

Seasonings:

  • Garlic
  • Oregano
  • Italian Seasoning
  • Hint of paprika

Throw all the ingredients into the crockpot except greek yogurt and rice/pasta. Once cooked (4 hours on low heat), shred chicken and cut sausage into small pieces. 15 minutes before serving turn the crockpot on warm and add yogurt and heat through. Serve over rice or egg noodle pasta.

I served this over rice tonight and had a fresh cut salad with beets, radishes, orange, yellow, and red peppers, cubed cheese and croutons with delicious honey mustard dressing. It was the perfect meal for a cool, rainy afternoon.

Caribbean Jerk Chicken

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 27 April, 2013 None comments

Today I really was in the mood to cook and enjoy some time in the kitchen. All this packing and crazy business has got to me. I decided I would set this all aside for the afternoon and make a tasty dish with what’s left in the cupboards due to all the packing going on.

My dutch oven completely went splat on me two weeks ago. I was putting spaghetti on while I emptied the last can of olives into the mix and heard a loud pop that finally burst and painted my kitchen walls. I was covered from head to toe. The bottom of my dutch oven cracked a perfect hole that completely broke off and left another crack around the entire pot. The piece broke so perfectly I couldn’t understand what happened. I should have took a picture but was too concerned with my broken dutch oven and painted walls.

Needless to say I was very discouraged because I used the last of the turkey meat and had no clue what to make for dinner now. It was the perfect day for homemade spaghetti… until now. This being said, I use my dutch oven for EVEYTHING. I make stew, soup, bread, and much more in this miraculous pot and now it meets her maker. I went on a hunt looking for one the other day and had no success. I need it to be at least 4.5 quarts and red.

While the hunt is still on for this amazing pot, I was limited as to what I could make for dinner tonight considering my dutch oven is gone and I’ve packed up many other pots and pans. I decided I would cook some yummy Caribbean Jerk chicken, I have become very fond of this seasoning lately. I made quite the dish tonight and truly could have eaten the entire pot full.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Chicken Breasts
  • 1 Asparagus stock
  • 1 lb Mushrooms
  • 1 Yellow Pepper
  • 1 Red Pepper
  • 1 Orange Pepper
  • 2-3 tbsp Minced Garlic
  • 1 Onion

 

Sauce:

  • 4 tbsps cream cheese
  • ½ cup half and half
  • 2-3 tbsp flour or cornstarch
  • 2 tsp Caribbean Jerk Seasoning

 

I used a rotisserie chicken purely out of convenience. If using regular chicken breast, cook chicken until no longer pink. Slice into strips and set aside. Meanwhile chop asparagus into thirds; slice mushrooms, peppers and toss in skillet with 1 tbsp EVOO. Add garlic and onions. Cook approximately 5 minutes depending how tender you like your asparagus (I prefer mine to have a bit of a crunch). After five minutes add cooked chicken and heat through.

Spoon cream cheese into skillet and turn heat to medium-low. While that’s melting pour half & half into a small bowl and whisk flour and seasoning together making sure there are no lumps. Once smooth, pour into skillet and let mixture thicken for a couple minutes.

Meanwhile cook your linguini to al dente making sure not to overcook your pasta. Spoon pasta directly into a serving bowl allowing the pasta water to follow; this will allow the sauce to adhere to the pasta and become flavorful.

Hint: Draining pasta for a warm dish is great but always leave about ¼ cup pasta water in with pasta when serving a hot dish. NEVER rinse with cold water. This brings the sauce and the pasta together rather than repelling the sauce away.

Serve with side salad or on it’s own. J

Lime Chicken Avocado Enchiladas

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 18 March, 2013 1 comments

I normally make turkey or beef enchiladas as I love the way they turn out. 100% of the time I use a green sauce because I do not like red sauce. It’s too much for me.

I decided to make a chicken enchilada and saw a recipe for lime avocado sauce (I can’t find the original recipe I adapted this from, my apologies) but definitely tweaked the recipe as usual. Husband loved them and asked me to make them on another night with guests and do a Mexican theme with homemade chips.

I used 1 chicken breast and also the Costco canned chicken to quickly add more meat without thawing another breast. If I wasn’t so rushed this particular night, I would have either used a rotisserie chicken or two regular chicken breasts. :)

Recipe:

  • 2 chicken breast
  • 1-2 jalapeño’s diced
  • 1 medium onion
  • Garlic
  • EVOO
  • Flour tortillas 6-8
  • 2 cups Cubed pepper jack cheese
  • 2 cups shredded Monterey cheese
  • Fresh cilantro (garnish, optional)

Lime Avocado Sauce:

  • 1 lime, half for the sauce and other half for the chicken
  • 2 avocados
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375

Cook chicken in a sauce pan with EVOO, onion, diced jalapeños (omit seeds for less spice) and garlic cloves. Flavor chicken if desired. Once cooked add the canned chicken and ½ lime juice.

Turn off burner and add chunks of pepper jack cheese (about 2 cups) to the chicken mixture. Lightly stir, this will allow yummy bites of cheesy goodness.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl add avocados, ½ lime juice, and sour cream and mash well (may be chunky). Add chicken broth and remaining seasonings and mix well.

In a separate sauce pan melt butter and add cornstarch and let bubble to thicken. Once thickened add the avocado mixture and turn off the heat.

Assemble in a greased 9×13 pan.  Scoop chicken mixture into tortillas and add a little avocado sauce. Not too much. Once all tortillas are rolled up in the pan, spread the avocado sauce on top and sprinkle 1 cup Monterrey Cheese.

Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on the cheese melting. Once cheese is melted sprinkle remaining Monterrey cheese on top and turn oven to broil. 3-5 minutes until cheese is a bubbling brown color. Remove from oven and garnish with cilantro if desired.

Serves really well with homemade chips or freshly chopped salad. Be prepared to be Wowed!