Chicken and Green Bean Foil Packet

Quick and easy weeknight dinner for two with juicy, lemony chicken thighs, green beans and red pepper. I used green beans that I had taken straight from the garden to the freezer then into this dinner!

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in 4 pieces each

1/4 lb fresh or frozen green beans

3 green onions, sliced

1/2 large red pepper, sliced

3 or 4 lemon slices

1 tbsp fresh rosemary

Old Bay seasoning

Take a large piece of foil and lay it on a baking sheet. Place the lemon slices down the middle. Season the chicken well with Old Bay and put on top of the lemon. Lay the green beans on either side. These green beans were still frozen, no problem.

Top it off with red pepper, green onion, rosemary and more Old Bay. Fold the sides of the foil up and crimp tightly closed.

Cook in a 450°F oven for 25-30 minutes then remove from oven and leave closed 5-10 minutes. Carefully open the foil letting the steam escape.

Serves 2

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Pumpkin Walnut Muffins

Any pumpkin still around? I used up my last little bit in this recipe for tender, moist muffins with the added nutty crunch of walnuts.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tsps cinnamon

1/2 cup pumpkin purée

1/2 cup shredded apple

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Topping:

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 1/2 tbsps butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 tbsps flour

First, make the topping. Combine the dry ingredients then add the butter. Set aside in the fridge.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, brown sugar, walnuts, nutmeg and cinnamon together.

In another bowl whisk the pumpkin, apple, eggs, vanilla and vegetable oil together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until combined. Scoop the batter into prepared muffin tins. I fill mine 2/3 full for medium sized muffins.

Take the topping out of the fridge and crumble it on top of each muffin. Bake at 350°F for 22-25 minutes.

Makes 16 medium sized muffins

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Orange Ricotta Cookies

Incredibly soft and fluffy cookies almost like little orange cakes topped with a zesty, shiny orange glaze.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soft butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1 cup ricotta

2 tsps orange zest

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cups flour

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

1/2 tsp orange zest

2 tbsps fresh squeezed orange juice

1 tbsp corn syrup

pinch of salt

Beat the butter then add the sugar, baking soda and salt and beat again. Add the egg, ricotta, orange zest and vanilla and mix until smooth. Blend in the flour and mix until a soft dough forms.

Roll into 1" balls and place on parchment lined baking sheets about 1.5" apart. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes.

Once cookies have cooled on a rack, combine the glaze ingredients. Dip each cookie top in the glaze and gently shake excess off. Place back on racks to set for about 30 minutes. The glaze made just enough for all the cookies. I was left with about 1 tsp in the bowl! Store between waxed or parchment sheets in an airtight container in the fridge.

Makes 59 two-bite cookies

Adapted from: bhg.com

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Classic Ricotta Stuffed Shells

These jumbo stuffed shells are a classic Italian comfort food with a creamy, cheesy spinach filling and a full bodied tomato sauce. Serve them with a big, old Caesar salad or with Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore Drumsticks. (See the link at the end of this post)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 tsps minced garlic

2 tsps dry oregano

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp tomato paste

salt and pepper to taste

28 oz can diced tomatoes

1 3/4 cups passata (strained tomatoes)

pinch of sugar

26 jumbo pasta shells

1/2 tbsp olive oil

200g (6 cups) packed fresh spinach

1 cup ricotta

2/3 cup shredded mozzarella

2 tsps minced garlic

handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/4 cup parmesan or romano cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Start with the sauce. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan and add the onion cooking 3-4 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and oregano for 30 seconds then pour in the diced tomatoes and passata along with the balsamic, salt, pepper, tomato paste and sugar. Simmer 15-20 minutes.

For the filling heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot. Add the spinach and stir just to wilt, 1-2 minutes. Drain off the hot water and let the spinach cool. When cool enough to handle squeeze the liquid out by wringing it in a clean dishtowel then return to the pot or a large bowl. Add ricotta, parmesan, garlic, basil, salt and pepper to spinach.

Cook the pasta shells to al dente, maybe 5 minutes less cooking time than actually required on package. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Pour the sauce into a 13 X 9" baking dish and preheat the oven to 350°F. Fill each shell with about 2 tsps of filling. Do not overfill or the shells may split, but once you've filled each shell you may go back and add a little more here and there.

Sit the stuffed shells in the sauce and top with shredded mozzarella and more parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Serves 6

Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore Drumsticks:

https://www.hotandcoldrunningmom.ca/2023/11/slow-cooker-chicken-cacciatore.html

Adapted from: thelastfoodblog.com

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Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore Drumsticks

This is a large recipe. You will need a 7 quart slow cooker to cook all this yumminess!

Ingredients:

Topping:

24 chicken drumsticks

4 tsps smoked paprika

2 tsps dry oregano

1 tsp dry basil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Sauce:

1/2 cup tomato paste

2 - 28 oz cans diced tomatoes

2 tbsps smoked paprika

2 tsps dry oregano

1 tsp dry basil

1 1/2 tsps salt

2 red onions, thinly sliced

2 bell peppers, diced

1/2 - 1 cup stuffed green olives (optional)

Combine the topping ingredients and coat all the drumsticks. Then, in the slow cooker crockpot, mix all the sauce ingredients and nestle the drumsticks in. You will probably need to layer them and that's ok as long as they are mostly covered in sauce.

Place the onions, bell peppers and olives (if using) on top. Cover and set on low for 6 hours. (You can see here just how full this 7 quart crock is!)

And it's ready to serve with your favourite rice or pasta!

Serves 10

(The leftover sauce can be boiled down for a hearty pasta sauce too!)

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Bacon Bruschetta

The perfect little holiday appetizer or game day finger food! Cutting the tomato, onions and bacon small avoids topping dropping. And they can be partially made ahead of time. 

Ingredients:

1 baguette, sliced 

1 - 227g (8 oz) container Herb and Spice chip dip

6 slices of bacon, cook, drain on a paper towel and crumble 

2 or 3 green onions, finely sliced

1 Roma tomato, seeds removed and diced small

Mix half the cooked bacon, half the green onions and half the tomato with the dip. This can be prepared a day or two ahead of time and kept in the fridge. Keep the rest of the toppings in ziplock plastic bags. When ready to serve, spread the loaded dip onto baguette slices and place on a foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the remaining bacon, green onion and tomato on top.

Bake at 350°F for 12-14 minutes

Serves 6

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Cabbage Roll Soup

When you feel like cabbage rolls but don't have the time to make them, give this soup a try. Same delish flavour that makes a filling and satisfying meal with less hands-on work. Freezes well too! 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb ground beef (or a mix of beef, pork and veal)

1 1/2 lbs cabbage (about 6 cups chopped)

1/2 cup cooked rice

3 tbsps tomato paste

1 - 28 oz  (798ml) can diced tomatoes

2 carrots, shredded

2 red onions, diced

2 tsps minced garlic

2 qts (2L) beef or chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp allspice

2 tsps smoked paprika

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp sage

1 tsp onion powder

salt and pepper to taste

Heat vegetable oil in a large pot and add the diced onions. Cook to lightly golden then add the garlic. Stir 1 minute before adding the meat, breaking it up as it browns. Once the meat is cooked add the smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, sage, onion powder, tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir together and add the cabbage, carrots, broth, bay leaves and allspice. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 hour.

After 1 hour add the cooked rice. Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Makes 8-10 servings

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Buttery Baked Brown Rice

Such an easy little side! Just combine all the ingredients and pop in the oven.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup beef broth

3/4 cup water

2 tbsps dry onion soup mix

1 cup brown sticky rice

1/4 cup butter

First place the rice in a colander and rinse well with cold water. Preheat oven to 350°F and oil a 1.5L or about 1.5 quart size baking dish. Add the rice, broth, water and onion soup mix to the baking dish and stir to combine. Top with dabs of butter, cover and bake for 30 minutes. Then uncover and return to the oven for another 30 minutes.

Fluff and serve.

Makes 4 servings

Served here with Garlic Mushroom Chicken. For the recipe click here:

https://www.hotandcoldrunningmom.ca/2023/11/garlic-mushroom-chicken.html

Adapted from: sweetpealifestyle.com

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Garlic Mushroom Chicken

This is the flavour bomb you didn't know you need! Tender pieces of seriously seasoned chicken tossed with mushrooms, onion and bell pepper. 

Ingredients:

2 tbsps vegetable oil

2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1" pieces

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsps worcestershire sauce (or soya sauce)

3 tsps minced garlic

8 oz (225g) white mushrooms, sliced

3 tbsps butter

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 bell pepper, diced

2 tbsps fresh parsley, chopped

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pan on medium high. Add the chicken, seasonings (except the garlic) and worcestershire sauce and give it a good sear then cook through, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and keep warm.

Heat another 1 tbsp vegetable oil in the same pan with 1 tbsp butter. Add the mushrooms and sauté 3-4 minutes or until golden. Add the rest of the butter along with the onion and bell pepper cooking for 3 minutes.

Add the minced garlic, stir together, then return the chicken back to the pan along with any accumulated juices. Stir and heat through about 3 minutes.

Plate and garnish with chopped parsley.

Serves 4

Shown here with Buttery Baked Brown Rice. Here's the recipe link:

https://www.hotandcoldrunningmom.ca/2023/11/buttery-baked-brown-rice.html 

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Pizza with the Works

Pizza with the works, or the Canadianism "all-dressed" usually means mushrooms, pepperoni and bell  pepper but this one takes it up a notch! Make it your cheat meal this week!

Ingredients:

Pizza dough for 1 medium pizza

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella 

More mozzarella cut in sticks or cheese sticks for the crust

1/3 lb bacon, cooked and chopped

Reserved bacon drippings 

4-5 tbsps pizza sauce

Sliced mushrooms, bell peppers and red onion

Pepperoni

Fresh pineapple tidbits 

I used a frozen pizza dough ball for this one and here's a handy tip. Usually I defrost the dough overnight rolled in vegetable oil in a ziplock bag then during the day I leave it out on the counter to come to room temperature. I forgot to leave it out of the fridge but was able to speed up the process by putting the bag of dough in the microwave with a bowl of hot water. Don't turn on the microwave! The heat of the water will bring the dough to a nice workable temp. in about an hour.

Once you have the dough stretched to fit your pan, pull the edges over sticks of cheese and seal well. This is just an option but more cheese is always the better choice😋

Next spread the sauce over the crust. I like a scant amount of sauce but feel free to increase the sauce if you like.

Then pile on the shredded mozzarella, mushrooms, bell peppers, onion, bacon, pepperoni and pineapple (don't knock it 'til you've tried it!!)

Give everything a good drizzle of reserved bacon drippings. 

And onto a preheated pizza stone in a 510°F oven (or convection oven) for 10-12 minutes.

Beauty!

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