What's for Apps? Greek Seven Layer Dip!

In our family, the day after Thanksgiving is usually just kind of a do-your-own-thing day when it comes to food.  There is a lot of leftover action and kind of constant grazing.  Although, after the gluttony of Thanksgiving Day, I was kind of wanting a snack that was healthy.  This is a take on the ever-loved Mexican Seven Layer Dip, but it hails from the Aegean, rather than the Gulf of Mexico. It is easy, REALLY good, and healthy. What more can you ask for?  Although beware, it is so good, you might just eat the whole thing yourself.  Take this to your next party and it'll have everyone screaming OPA!  Enjoy!

Greek Seven Layer Dip
Serves 4-6
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1 English cucumber (the long thin ones that come in plastic wrap)
1 5-oz container fat free Greek yogurt (I like Fage)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 clove garlic, pressed
salt and pepper to taste
1 10-oz container hummus (I LOVE the Sabra brand...I use either garlic or plain)
1 tomato, diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
pita chips

To make tzadziki: cut cucumber in half.  Peel one half.  Grate the half over a doubled paper towel.  Squeeze out as much water as you can.  In a small bowl, add Greek yogurt.  Mix in grated cucumber, lemon juice, pressed garlic and salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate (you can do this ahead of time).

In a serving dish, add hummus and spread evenly on bottom.  Add tzadziki and spread evenly.  Cut the remaining half of the cucumber in a small dice and add on top.  Add diced tomato, onion and olives. Sprinkly feta over top and serve with pita chips.  Mmmmmm.

What's for Dinner? Chicken Stroganoff!

I've had mushrooms on the mind lately.  I don't know how my sister and I can differ so greatly on something...she absolutely abhors them, and I love them with a passion!  The past couple of times I have been into the Fresh Market, they have had some awesome mushrooms there.  Here in Wilmington, good, wild mushrooms are hard to come by.  But I have recently gotten chanterelles, huge shiitakes, oysters, enokis, etc. etc. For this recipe, I used shiitakes and baby portobellos.  The classic version of this dish uses beef, and if you want to use that, great.  But chicken is quicker and healthier and I just prefer it, most of the time.  This is a really quick and easy dish to make that is healthy and hearty.  If you are into mushrooms, like me, you can't go wrong!  Try it and enjoy!

Delicious 'shooms!

Chicken Stroganoff
Serves 3-4

2 TBSP olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, diced
16 oz sliced mushrooms of your choice
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (just under a pound total)
3 TBSP flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
6-8 springs fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 TBSP butter or spread
1 cup light sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat 1 TBSP olive oil on medium high heat and add onion.  Saute for several minutes, until onion starts to soften.  Add mushrooms and cook until they become browned and soft.  Add garlic and saute one minute more.  Reserve mixture to separate bowl and put aside.  In the same skillet, heat the rest of the oil.  Add chicken and saute until browned and cooked through.  Add back in onion and mushroom mixture.  Sprinkle flour over everything and stir to coat well.  Add chicken broth, wine and thyme and stir.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes until mixture becomes thick.  Turn off heat and stir in butter and sour cream.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over hot buttered egg noodles or rice.  Enjoy!

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What's for Dinner? Spanish Fideuà (aka Noodle Paella)!

I love paella.  It has everything good...rice, seafood, sausage!  When we were in Barcelona, I remember seeing this thing called Fideua on the menu...it was actually a noodle version of paella--even better!  I really wanted to try it, but we ran out of time before I got a chance. Today as I was thinking about what to make for dinner, I remembered I had some fideos (which is just the Spanish word for noodles) that I bought at the Mexican mart last time I went.  They are actually just dried vermicelli noodles, cut into about 1-inch pieces.  I thought it may be a little quicker than the rice version and I surprisingly had everything else to do the (quick version) of the recipe.  It was awesome and super fast to make.  All the good flavor of paella, without the sweating over the hot pan while the rice slowly cooks!  It would be great with even more seafood (i.e. mussels, scallops, etc.)...I just used shrimp because that is what I had!  And I used lowfat turkey smoked sausage, trying to keep it a little lighter, but would also be excellent with Spanish chorizo, as the traditional dish calls for.  Give it a try!!  Enjoy.

Spanish Fideua (aka Noodle Paella)
Serves 4-6

• 2 TBSP olive oil, divided
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb smoked sausage or Spanish chorizo, cut in 1 inch pieces
• 7-8 oz fideos (don't worry, if you can't find these, just cut dry angel hair or vermicelli in 1-inch pieces!)
• 1, 28-oz can diced tomatoes with juice (I use good, San Marzano tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2-4 cups chicken broth
• 2 tsp Spanish smoked paprika (this is NOT regular paprika)
• 1 large pinch saffron threads
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

In a large skillet, heat 1 TBSP oil until hot.  Saute onion until just soft.  Add garlic and sausage and saute until sausage is browned (the sausage should be pre-cooked, so you are just browning, not cooking).  Once done, scrape into bowl.  In same skillet, heat the remaining oil.  Add in dry pasta and saute until pasta starts getting a nice golden-brown color.  Once that happens, add in tomatoes, sausage/onion mixture, wine, 2 cups chicken broth, paprika and saffron.  Stir well to combine and reduce heat to a low simmer.  Let it sit now, without stirring, until the noodles look like they have absorbed most of the liquid.  Then, scrape the bottom and add in another cup of broth.  Repeat.  At the end of this, if the noodles are almost tender, add in peas and shrimp and a little more broth.  Let simmer until both shrimp and noodles are cooked and the rest of the broth is mostly absorbed (don't let the noodles cook too long...you don't want them to get mushy...you have to keep an eye on it and judge how much time you need).  Serve with some crusty bread and enjoy!

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What's for Dinner? Mexican Stuffed Shells!

I found the idea for this recipe online and thought it looked great.  I am a sucker for anything Mexican and anything pasta...and this combined both!  It came out so much better than I imaged.  The flavor was great and overall it was pretty easy to make.  The stuffing of the shells only took about 10 minutes and the rest of the cooking didn't take long either.  Please make this...Sully deemed it the best new recipe we've had in a while! Enjoy!

Mexican Stuffed Shells
Serves 5 (4 shells each)

20 jumbo shells
1 TBSP olive oil
20 oz ground turkey (93% lean)
1 packet taco seasoning
4 scallions, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 oz cream cheese
1 can Goya Black Bean Soup**, drained
1 cup Spencer's Salsa (or your favorite jarred brand)
1 packet Frontera Chipotle and Garlic Taco Skillet Sauce
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
green onion and sour cream for garnish

Preheat oven to 350. In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil.  Cook shells to specifications.  Drain and coat with a small amount of olive oil to prevent sticking.  Let cool.

In a large skillet, add olive oil and when hot, add turkey and taco seasoning.  Saute until browned and cooked through.  Add onion and garlic and saute one minute more.  Reduce heat to low and add in cream cheese.  Stir until thoroughly combined.  Add in black beans and stir.  Remove from heat.

In a 9x13 baking dish, coat the bottom with salsa.  Stuff each shell with the meat mixture and lay in dish.  Cover with taco sauce and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.  Broil to brown cheese, if desired.  Garnish with onion and Sour cream.  Enjoy!

**Goya Black Bean Soup is the undiscovered king of black beans.  I don't use it as soup...I use it whenever I need black beans.  They are perfectly seasoned and in a little thicker sauce.  Try them!!  They can either be found in the Hispanic section, the soup section, or the bean section.  Sooo worth the hunt!

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What's for Sides? Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread

This weekend, fall was in the air.  It was the perfect time for chili and cornbread!  My friend Greg got out his awesome chili recipe (which I will be posting here later) and I looked around for a few cornbread recipes.  I found this one that I adapted.  It was orginally supposed to be for corn sticks, cooked in a cast iron mold.  I know I have just about every kitchen/cooking gadget known to man, but shockingly, I do not own cast iron corn stick molds.  So...I adapted the recipe and it came out REALLY good.  The recipe had just a hint of the jalapeno flavor without being too hot.  If you want more heat...add more jalapeno!  You could even add crisp, crumbled bacon to this and it would be awesome!  This is a simple recipe sure to please. Try it and enjoy!

Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread
Serves 6

1/2 jalapeno, seeded and finely minced
3 scallions, diced (white and green parts)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBSP butter or spread (I use Brummel & Brown)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal (not self-rising)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425. In a small skillet, heat the butter until hot.  Add jalapeno, onion and garlic.  Saute 1-2 minutes until fragrant and they begin to soften.  Remove from heat and let cool a bit.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, baking soda and baking powder.  Mix together and form a well in the middle.

In a small bowl combine egg and buttermilk.  Beat until combined.  Pour into well of dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined and a sticky dough is formed.  Add in pepper mixture and cheese.  Combine well.

Coat a 9x9 glass dish with cooking spray and add the dough mixture to it.  Cook for 20 minutes until bread is just starting to brown.  Serve hot with butter!

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