Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Erin, how much do you absolutely love lettuce wraps? They are amazing! So when I found a seemingly easy recipe on how to make them, I jumped right on it. They were super yummy! Sam especially loved them and told me it was one of his favorite recipes of mine :)

Ingredients

For stir fry sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil

For Cashew Chicken:
2 chicken breasts, diced
8 leaves of greenleaf lettuce
3 tablespoons canola oil (I used vegetable oil)
1 cup onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 cup cashews, chopped

What to do:

For stir fry sauce:
Mix all ingredients making sure to dissolve brown sugar. Set aside.

For Cashew Chicken:
1. Heat canola oil in pan over medium to medium high heat. Add diced chicken and brown (about 4-5 minutes).
2. Remove chicken from oil. Add onions, garlic and 1 teaspoon soy sauce to pan; brown.
3. When onions and garlic are brown and tender, add stir fry sauce, browned chicken, and cashews.
4. Saute mixture for a few minutes and remove from heat.
5. Spoon chicken mixture into individual lettuce leaves.

Spaghetti with Vodka Sauce

Erin, Happy Monday! Can you believe that Christmas is in only two weeks, time has been flying by! I cannot believe that I have been living in DC for 6 months now, crazy thought. With this being my last week at the office, I knew stress might eventually get the best of me. So, I wanted to try cooking easy meals this week. I found this recipe for a "spiked pasta" and it looked fantastic. And sure enough, it was!

Sam absolutely loved it. I thought it was a little too spicy for me, so next time I am going to cut the red pepper in half.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound spaghetti pasta

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

Scant 3/4 tsp salt, divided

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup vodka

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1/4 cup whipping cream

What to do:

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and keep warm.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. 

3. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, pepper, and garlic; sauté 1 minute. 

4. Add vodka and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by about half. 

5. Stir in scant 1/2 teaspoon salt, broth, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and let cool slightly.

6. Transfer the mixture into a food processor or blender and puree. Return tomato mixture to pan.

7. Mix in cream, then cook the sauce for 2 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

8. Pour sauce over pasta, top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Erin: Baked potato soup is amazing, even more so when you can make it at home :) It has been so cold in DC lately and I thought soup would be the perfect way to warm up. So on lazy Sunday night, I whipped this up and it was amazing.

Ingredients: 

4-5 red potatoes

2  teaspoons olive oil

1/2  cup chopped onion

1 1/4  cups chicken broth

3  tablespoons all-purpose flour

2  cups milk, divided

1/4  cup sour cream

1/2  teaspoon  salt

1/4  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

5 bacon slices, crumbled

1/3  cup shredded cheddar cheese

What to do:

1. Pierce potatoes with a fork. Microwave on HIGH 13 minutes or until tender. Cut in half; cool slightly.

2. While potatoes cook, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add broth. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk in measuring cup; add to pan then add the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk. Bring to a boil; stir often, being careful to not let the milk boil over. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream, salt, and pepper.

3. Arrange bacon on a paper towel on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with a paper towel; microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes. Crumble bacon.

4. Scoop potato into soup and discard potato skins. Coarsely mash potatoes into soup using a potato masher. Ladle soup into four bowls and top with cheese, green onions, and bacon.

Beef Taquitos

Erin: For a quick & easy meal during the week, try beef taquitos. They were fast but still really good.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for brushing on the taquitos
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1 cup salsa
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
10 flour tortillas
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar

What to do:
1. Heat the oven to 400º
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and  then add the onion and garlic and cook them for 3 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add the beef and cook until it is no longer red, about 3 minutes.
4. Stir in 1/2 cup of the salsa, the chili powder, and the salt and pepper. Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
5. Top each tortilla with the beef mixture, spreading it to an inch from the edges. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the beef.
6. Roll up the tortillas and place them on a foil-lined baking sheet with the seam sides down. Brush the taquitos lightly with vegetable oil, then bake them until the filling is heated through and the tortillas are lightly browned, about 10 minutes

Chicken Piccata

Erin: The holidays are among us! Christmas time in DC has been absolutely beautiful. All the leaves have fallen from the trees and it is getting a bit colder, but I am loving it. This past weekend has been pretty lazy. Sam and I picked out a Christmas tree and spent Saturday evening decorating it and watching Christmas movies (Love Actually!).  When it came time for dinner, I found a chicken piccata recipe on Pintrest (!) and it was really yummy! Sam and Eric loved it but I thought it had a bit too much lemon, so next time I will probably cut it in half. Enjoy!

Chicken

Juice of 1 lemon

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp basil

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Pasta

2 cups dried penne pasta

2 Tbsp butter

Juice of 2 lemons

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tsp dried basil

2 Tbps capers

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Chicken

1. Combine first 6 ingredients and mix well.  

2. Place chicken in a ziplock bag and pour marinade over chicken. 

3. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.  

4. When you are ready to start cooking, grill the chicken and then slice into strips to serve over pasta.

Pasta

1. While chicken is grilling,  cook pasta according to directions

2. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.  

3. Whisk in garlic and lemon juice.  

4. Pour in heavy cream and whisk until hot.  

5. Add some salt and pepper to taste. 

6. Add the parmesan cheese, basil and capers, and heat until cheese is melted. 

 7. Toss in pasta.