Ain’t no party like a Pyrex party

I’m getting into the habit of spending a lot of time in the kitchen at the start of the week. I like making one big mess and multiple meals in a marathon session because then it’s easier to focus on other projects and activities later in the week. It feels like I’m working smarter, not harder -- if I’m going to use a certain vegetable in multiple recipes, I’d rather do all the chopping at once and save myself the hassle of washing the cutting board and knife twice. With proper menu planning, it’s also a great way to get the most out of your groceries while everything’s fresh. Take, for example, the following two meals that I made, one after the other, a few days ago. Both recipes include chicken breast, cheese and green onion -- I was able to use a two-pound package of chicken, a 12-ounce bag of pre-shredded cheese and one bunch of onions without having to stash any pesky remnants in the fridge. Knocked out a good portion of my prep work while baking the chicken (375 degrees for 20-ish minutes) and tackled the dishes while my concoctions bubbled away in the oven.

First into the oven was a gooey cheese-and-rice dish, the recipe for which I got from my mother-in-law, Lynn (it’s a family classic). After that, the newest of my never-ending attempts at making things delicious by smothering everything in enchilada sauce.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake 
Adapted from a recipe that originally appeared in “Casseroles” by Beatrice Ojakangas 
2 cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup uncooked white rice
¼ cup unsalted butter
8 ounces sliced brown mushrooms
⅓ cup sliced green onions
3 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
2 cups nonfat milk
2 cups shredded reduced-fat cheese, divided
1 (2-ounce) jar chopped pimentos, drained
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken breast
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil with bouillon, stirring until bouillon cubes are dissolved. Stir in rice, bring back to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. In another medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and green onions and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and marjoram until blended. Remove from heat and gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute or until thickened. Stir in 1 cup cheese and pimentos and stir until cheese melts. Stir in chicken and rice. Pour mixture into glass baking dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Chicken Tortilla Casserole 
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken breast
2 tablespoons sliced green onion
1 cup cooked black beans
1 cup corn kernels
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 4.25-ounce can chopped olives
1 pack La Tortilla Factory green chile tortillas (or 8 corn tortillas), cut into strips
1 28-ounce can red enchilada sauce
2 cups grated reduced-fat cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix first six ingredients in medium bowl. In a 9-by-13 baking dish, layer all ingredients in the following manner: enchilada sauce (first layer should be enough to lightly coat the bottom of the baking dish), tortilla strips, chicken mixture, handful of cheese, healthy drizzle of sauce. Top the final layer of tortilla strips with remaining sauce and cheese. Cover dish with aluminum foil, bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 minutes more. Remove dish from oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Ready to dig into a satisfying salad?

While this Asian chicken salad recipe isn’t the most original idea I’ve had in the kitchen, it’s still pretty satisfying.

Sesame Chicken Slaw 
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons agave syrup
2 teaspoons minced ginger
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 head green cabbage, shredded (about six cups)
2 cups diced chicken breast
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced thin
⅓ cup chopped green onions
⅓ cup chopped cilantro
½ cup unsalted, dry roasted peanuts

Whisk lemon juice, soy sauce, agave syrup, minced ginger and sesame oil together to create dressing. Combine remaining ingredients in a large salad bowl and drizzle with dressing. Use tongs to toss and serve salad.

Make-Fast Mondays: Dill-icious Pasta Salad

Tonight’s Make-Fast Monday dinner is the end result in taking what I love about this recipe and ramping it up while scaling back the pasta. The end result is an entree-worthy pasta salad loaded with delicious shrimp, crunchy cucumber and a delightfully dilly dressing. It’s easy to prep all the components of this salad while boiling water and cooking your pasta. It’s also worth noting that I used Trader Joe’s Brown Rice  & Quinoa Fusilli Pasta, a new favorite, but a whole-wheat pasta would also yield similar results. 

Shrimp and Cucumber Fusilli with Dill Dressing 
¾ cup olive oil
5 tablespoons Dijon mustard
½ cup chopped dill
⅓ cup white wine vinegar
8 ounce fusilli, cooked al dente and rinsed with cold water
4 green onions, sliced
1 pound Persian cucumbers, halved and cut into thick slices (English cucumber would also work)
1 pound cooked medium shrimp, tails removed and deveined
1 cup fat-free crumbled feta

Blend olive oil, Dijon, dill and white wine vinegar in a blender until smooth and creamy. Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl, and stir in dressing until everything’s evenly coated.

Miso makes everything taste better

Y’know that broiled salmon I made a while back? Turns out the miso marinade from that recipe also tastes pretty flippin’ good with tofu and asparagus! Baking tofu is a relatively new thing in our house, but lemme tell you, it is wonderful because it comes out of the oven toasty on the outside and soft on the inside. Give it a try!

Miso Asparagus and Tofu with Black Rice 
½ cup white miso paste
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon agave syrup
1 tablespoon sesame oil
14-ounce package firm tofu, cubed and patted dry with paper towels
1 bunch asparagus, tough ends peeled and/or removed
3 cups cooked black rice
Non-stick cooking spray
Sliced green onion, for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and mist two cooking sheets with non-stick cooking spray. Whisk first six ingredients together in large bowl. Working in batches, add a few tofu cubes to bowl at a time, stirring gently with slotted spoon. Use spoon to remove tofu from bowl, allowing excess sauce to drain back into the bowl, and arrange cubes, in a single layer and so that they’re not touching, on one of the coated baking sheets. Put tofu in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove sheet from oven, flip tofu cubes, and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes.

Use slotted spoon to mix asparagus with remaining miso sauce until lightly coated. Distribute asparagus on second baking sheet. Put asparagus in the oven 10 minutes before the tofu’s done, and everything is ready to serve at the same time. Divide rice evenly among four plates or bowls, then top with asparagus and tofu, and garnish with green onion.

Summer’s not going anywhere

I know the first day of fall’s right around the corner, but we Californians still have plenty of time to enjoy warm-weather favorites. This salad is a nice, quick fix for those days you’d rather be outside soaking up the sun than spending time in the kitchen.

Quinoa Salad with Tomatoes and Corn 
1 cup uncooked quinoa (red, white, mixed … pick your favorite!)
2 cups water
1 ½ cups tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes, halved)
1 cup white corn
½ cup green onion, chopped
½ cup cilantro
1 avocado, cubed
½ cup crumbled cotija cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Combine quinoa and water in saucepan. Bring to a boil before covering and simmering until quinoa is cooked, somewhere between 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk olive oil, orange juice, rice wine vinegar and lime juice together in a bowl. Add tomatoes, corn, green onion, cilantro, cotija and dressing to quinoa, tossing well to coat. Top with avocado chunks before serving.

Adding the recipes of others to my repertoire

A caterer once told me that it only takes a minor tweak to someone’s existing recipe to make it your own. Can’t say I agree, which is why I’m going to share a couple photos and then refer you to some delicious recipes others have created but that I’ve tried and love.

Corn Farrotto from Bon Appetit (doctored up with some garlic shrimp)

One of my favorite food bloggers posted this Toasted Sesame Quinoa with Chicken recipe a couple months ago and I’ve already made it half a dozen times.

A soup with plenty of spuds and spice

We’re not big potato eaters but every once in awhile I’ll spot a ginormous bag of spuds at the grocery store, see that it costs mere pennies, and before you know it I’ve hoisted a bag into my cart.

This is what happened during my most recent trip to the supermarket, when I spent a whopping $2 on 10 pounds of white potatoes (this soup was the result of my last cheap-as-dirt potato deal). I also picked up some end-of-season corn for 25 cents per ear.

It’s finally cooling down and feeling like fall, and these super-cheap ingredients were the basis of one of the first of many soups and stews I plan to make in the coming months. I like the sweet flavors of the corn and the cooked red onion mixed with a little bit of kick from the jalapeno, diced green chiles and cumin.

Spiced Potato and Corn Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large jalapeno, seeds removed, diced
1 medium red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 pounds white potatoes, cleaned and cut into small cubes
2 ears of corn, husked, kernels cut from cobs
7 cups chicken broth
4 oz. can diced green chiles
Salt and pepper, to taste
Green onion, for garnish

Warm oil in a large heavy pot. Add jalapenos, red onion, garlic and cumin and cook mixture, stirring occasionally, for just a couple minutes. Add potatoes, corn and broth to pot, cover pot and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Use two-cup glass measuring cup to scoop six cups of soup into blender. Puree soup mixture and pour back into the pot. Stir in the green chiles and simmer for just a couple more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Getting saucy with baked potatoes

We’re not big baked-potato people, but every once in awhile a spud topped with all kinds of goodies sounds amazing. The next time you get a hankering for a baked potato, give this low-maintenance meal a try.

BBQ Chicken Baked Potato 
2 chicken breasts
2 cups Kansas City-style barbecue sauce (this was enough sauce to cover the chicken in my little Crock-Pot)
2 tablespoons dried minced onions
4 russet potatoes, baked to your liking and split lengthwise
Garnishes: shredded cheddar and sliced green onion

Place chicken breasts, barbecue sauce and minced onion in slow cooker. Cook on low setting for 8 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred meat with knife and fork. Return meat to slow cooker so the chicken gets nice and saucy. Top each baked potato with a heap of shredded chicken and garnish with cheddar and green onions.