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Inspiration for wholesome weeknight & weekend cooking.

Posts tagged ‘weekday’

Baked Sweet Potato “Fries”

This is one of my favorite Ina Garten recipes (and that’s saying a lot!)  It’s so versatile – you can serve to kids for a casual, weeknight dinner or with a fancier meal if you are entertaining.  You can also make them ahead and reheat them in the oven if you need to.  I don’t know about you, but our family can’t get enough of sweet potatoes, so this is a fun way to mix it up.  Note: I slice my sweet potatoes a little thinner than Ina and I always double the recipe!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Recipe from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Baked Sweet Potato “Fries”

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Level: Easy
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into 3 long spears. Place them on a sheet pan and toss with the olive oil. Spread the potatoes in one layer. Combine the brown sugar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on the potatoes. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn with a spatula. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Sprinkle lightly with salt (if needed) and serve hot.

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Turkish Chicken

We eat chicken at least once a week and we got so tired of my boring baked chicken preparation.  Now that I’ve discovered this wonderful Turkish Seasoning from Penzys Spices, we have an easy and tasty way to make chicken that we all look forward to.  Follow the simple marinade and refrigerate in the morning or in the afternoon, and cook the chicken how you like (bake, saute or grill).  The marinade should work on lamb and beef just as well as it does on chicken.

Turkish Chicken

Recipe adapted from Penzeys catalog.

Turkish Chicken

Ingredients:

Turkish Seasoning by Penzeys Spices

1 pound chicken (we prefer boneless, skinless)

Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Mix 1 tablespoon olive oil with 1 tablespoon Turkish Seasoning and rub over chicken.  Let marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or all day.  Bake in oven at 375 or 400 degrees for 15-17 minutes or until chicken is just cooked through (insert knife into thickest part of chicken and chicken will no longer look pink and the juices should run clear).  Alternately, sauté in skillet (or grill) over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes per side or until chicken is just cooked through (insert knife into thickest part of chicken and chicken will no longer look pink and the juices should run clear).  Let the meat rest for a few minutes (so it retains its juices) before serving or slicing.

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Herbed Israeli Couscous

I love this simple and versatile side dish.  The texture of Israeli couscous is fun and the fresh herbs make it beautiful and tasty.  I’m not a big fan of tarragon, so I substitute with sage (since I grow it).  If your couscous is at all sticky (mine was), just add another drizzle of olive oil and work through it w/ a spoon, breaking up any clumps.  This can be served warm or at room temperature.

Herbed Israeli Couscous

Recipe from The Culinary Institute of America’s Gourmet Meals in Minutes.

Herbed Israeli Couscous

Total Time: 25 minutes

Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cups israeli couscous
  • 4 cups chicken broth or 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon tarragon, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions

  1. Heat the olive oil in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the couscous and sauté, stirring constantly, until well coated and aromatic, about 2-3 minutes.
  2. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until just tender, about 10-12 minutes.
  3. Add the herbs and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
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Pasta with Kale, Kalamata Olives, Dried Cranberries, Toasted Garlic & Feta

This is a wonderful and interesting dish – a great option for a vegetarian night.  There are so many tastes (and textures) going on: salty feta and olives , sour dried cranberries, bitter kale, sweet red onion, and aromatic garlic.  I could eat this once every two weeks — and I don’t know why I don’t!  It’s great with linguine, but also great with healthier penne (we often use Barilla Plus or Barilla Whole Grain). In this photo I tried a brown rice penne from Trader Joe’s which was also good.  Two notes: 1) whole wheat pastas don’t reheat that well (so chewy!) just in case you plan to make enough to have leftovers and 2) I thought 5-6 cloves of garlic was plenty (recipe calls for an entire head).

Pasta with Kale, Olives and Cranberries

Recipe from the blog Two Peas and Their Pod.

Pasta with Kale, Kalamata Olives, Dried Cranberries, Toasted Garlic & Feta

Yield: Serves 6-8

This pasta dish is also known as “crazy spaghetti” because it is crazy good-a family favorite!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 large bunch of kale, stems removed and leaves coarsely chopped
1/2 cup water
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound spaghetti or other pasta (we use whole wheat)
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, cut into slivers-pits removed
1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers, then cook garlic, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer garlic with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Cook onion in the remaining oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add dried cranberries and cook until plumped, about 1 minute.

2. Add kale leaves into onion mixture with water and 3/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Cook, covered, over medium-high heat until almost tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a pasta pot of boiling salted water until aldente. Reserve 1 cup pasta-cooking water and drain pasta.

4. Toss pasta with kale, Kalamata olives, and 1/2 cup pasta water. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle feta cheese and garlic chips over the pasta dish and serve warm.

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Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Roasted fingerling potatoes are so easy and yummy and they go with so many things – hamburgers, lamb chops, grilled steak, pork tenderloin, chicken, fish, etc.  Enjoy!

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound mesh bag of fingerling potatoes

2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 sprigs fresh rosemary, minced

Sea salt flakes (Maldon) or kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

zest of 1 lemon (optional)

juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.  Rinse potatoes and pat them dry.  Cut potatoes into halves or thirds, so that they are all roughly the same size.  Place them onto a rimmed baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, rosemary, and a good sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Roast them in the oven (tossing halfway through) for about 20-25 minutes or until nicely browned.  The skins should appear a bit wrinkled and crispy.  Sprinkle with additional rosemary and salt if desired.  You can also toss potatoes in a bowl with lemon zest and lemon juice if desired.  Serve immediately.

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Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi

My goal is to serve seafood once (or even twice) a week, but it requires me to get to Whole Foods or the fish market the day of … and life seems to get in the way of that.  I do think extra large raw frozen shrimp is great to have on hand for a last-minute dinner.  After all, many times when I buy raw shrimp, it’s already been previously frozen anyway.  I simply defrost it in a bowl filled with slightly cool water in the sink, peel and devein it … and I’m ready for our recipe!  This one is nice and simple and tastes great.

Shrimp Scampi

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.

Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 pound uncooked orzo

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

7 teaspoons unsalted butter, divided

1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp

2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Place orzo in a medium bowl. Stir in parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and olive oil; cover and keep warm.

2. While orzo cooks, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add half of shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer shrimp to a plate. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in pan. Add remaining shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer to plate.

3. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in pan. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in shrimp, juice, and pepper; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done.

4. Toss shrimp and butter-lemon sauce with orzo and serve.

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