open-face sandwiches

My mom recently gave me some fresh tomatoes out of Farmer Mel's garden and some fresh basil out of hers. She then told me to make some open-face sandwiches. She even offered to give us cheese. My mom always spoils us.

These delights were my dad's signature dish when we were little. If my mom was gone one night and he was on dinner duty, he would make these.
Another dish of his: buttered noodles with parmesan sprinkled on top and canned stewed tomatoes.
These always went together. These were common dinners in the Moser household growing up.
And now they have resurfaced. We just might be having buttered noodles for dinner tonight Kevin.
Yumdeliyumptious.



Open-faced Sandwiches

bread
cheese
sliced tomatoes
salt & pepper
basil (optional)

Put the oven to Broil. Place the cheese on the bread and place on a slotted cookie sheet.
Watch carefully, it only takes a minute or so. Then place the sliced tomatoes on top, sprinkle with salt & pepper and enjoy!

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Recipe from Baby Center
Submitted by Chelsey
Since baby #2 could be here any day, I have been wanting to find some EASY recipes that I can freeze or make fast! Which this recipe can be made before and frozen so all you have to do is put in in the oven, but it;s also super fast to make! I was emailed this from Baby Center, tried it and Will and I Loved it! Super easy too! I topped the enchiladas with fresh homemade salsa! Yummy! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped cooked chicken (I used canned chicken,you could buy a cooked chicken)
1 1/4 cups shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
One 10-ounce can mild enchilada sauce
6 corn tortillas

Preparations:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the chicken with 1/2 cup of the cheese in a bowl. Add about 2 tablespoons of the enchilada sauce, and mix to blend. Spread 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of a small baking dish (about 6 by 9 inches). Place a corn tortilla on a clean working surface. Spoon a few tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto one side of the tortilla, and roll the tortilla up over the filling. Place the enchilada into the sauce on one side of the pan, with the seam side down so that the enchilada doesn't roll open. Repeat with the remaining corn tortillas and filling, until there are 6 enchiladas in the pan. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the tortillas, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve hot. (Makes 2 to 4 servings)

Variations:
For spicier enchiladas, combine a 4-ounce can of chopped green chilies with the chicken and cheese mixture.

Creamy Pesto Shrimp

I am not a huge italian food fan. Pasta is too much for me most of the time.
I can handle cheese-filled ravioli and alfredo sauce but other than that, no thank you.
Spaghetti, forget about it (but I will eat the meatballs).

Well tonight I wanted to make something with pesto and something with shrimp. The only recipe I could find was a creamy pesto shrimp on linguine. And for some weird reason, it sounded good. Pasta sounded good. I must be pregnant. Hah totally kidding. Sorry Mom.
So I went for it. But I changed the recipe up a bit to take out the large amounts of unneeded fats.

Creamy Pesto Shrimp
Shrimp
noodles ( I just used normal spaghetti noodles)
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 1/2 Tb olive oil
salt + pepper to taste
pesto* (add as much as you want, I just kept adding until I was happy)

Cook your noodles for 8-10 minutes. Drain.

In a skillet, cook the half and half, olive oil and salt + pepper for 6-8 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the parmesan cheese and pesto. Add the shrimp and cook for 5 minutes or until pink. Cook until your sauce is at your desired consistency.

Pour sauce over noodles and enjoy! Delicious!

*I just used the pesto from Costco. I tried making my own but failed miserably. I think it was cheaper just buying the Costco version.

quinoa with mushrooms & spinach

This was tasty and easy. And I had it all on hand which made it even better.

Quinoa with mushrooms & spinach

1 cup quinoa
2 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp thyme

Put all in rice cooker. Mix and cook.

1 Tb olive oil
1/2 chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic

Saute onions until desired softness. About 5-10 minutes. Remove from pan.

1 Tb olive oil
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
4 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

In same pan heat oil and saute mushrooms for 5 minutes. Add rest of ingredients and cook until the sauce is reduced to desired consistency.

spinach (however much you want to add)

Add spinach and already cooked onions to pan and cook for about a minute. Remove from heat. Add cooked quinoa. Mix and enjoy!
You could top it with goat cheese (any kind of cheese for that matter) and extra balsamic vinegar.

30-Minute Rolls

I wanted an easy recipe that I could use for pulled pork sandwiches for tonight. I found these on Sister Cafe, just tried them! Yummy and only in 30mins!! :) enjoy!

30-Minute Rolls (from Real Mom Kitchen)

submitted by Chelsey

1 1/8 cups plus 2 tsp. warm water

1/3 cup oil

2 Tb yeast

1/4 cup sugar or honey

½ tsp. Salt

1 egg

3 ½ cups flour

Mix 1st 4 ingredients and let rest for 15 minutes. Add salt and eggs – gradually add flour. Shape into dinner rolls, or use in your favorite recipe that calls for dough. After shaped, let rest for 10 minutes. For rolls, Bake 10 minutes @400 degrees ‘till golden brown.

chicken lettuce wraps

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Sauce (to pour over wraps):

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
2 T soy sauce
2 T ketchup
1 T lemon juice
1/8 tsp sesame oil
1 T dijon mustard
2 cloves finely minced garlic

Chicken stir-fry:

2 T olive oil
2 T sesame oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts finely chopped {I used food processor}
1 8 oz can water chestnuts minced {again, with the food processor}
1 8 oz can bamboo shoots minced {need I repeat myself again...food processor}
1/2 cup mushrooms minced {food processor}
3 cloves garlic, finely minced {you guessed it, food processor}
3 green onions thinly chopped

Stir fry sauce:

2 T soy sauce
2 T brown sugar
1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar

Begin by making the pouring sauce. Mix all ingredients well and set aside for serving.
Prep stir fry sauce by mixing ingredients in small bowl and set aside.
Combine oils and heat over high heat until it glistens, about 1 minute. Add chicken and saute until cooked through, then remove from pan. Take same pan and turn to medium high heat. Add another T of olive oil, wait one minute, and then add garlic, onions, water chestnuts, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. Stir fry a few minutes and then add chicken and stir fry sauce.
Serve with lettuce leaves to wrap in. Pour sauce over.

via Just Cook Already

Homemade Graham Crackers

A friend posted this on her blog and i thought it would be good to start to add some gluten free recipes! Recipe from: http://www.whatlifedishesout.com/?p=638

Ingredients

2 Cups Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

1/4 Cup Brown Rice Flour

1/2 Cup packed Brown Sugar

2 tsp Cinnamon (I use half this amount)

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum

7 Tbsp Butter

3 Tbsp Cold Water

3 Tbsp Honey

1 tsp Vanilla

Sugar

Directions:

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and spray the paper lightly with Pam.

Combine flours, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and soda, salt and xanthan gum in a large bowl with a wire whisk.

Using a pastry cutter, cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles cornmeal.

Add water, honey and vanilla to flour mixture and using a wooden spoon, stir ingredients until the mixture is well combined and forms a ball.

(You may need to add a bit more water, or more a bit more brown rice flour if your dough is too dry or too sticky.)

Divide dough into two parts, wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

With another lightly sprayed piece of parchment placed atop the dough, use a rolling pin to roll each half into a large rectangle on each cookie sheet. (I don't use parchment on top of the dough. I just rolled it out using a bit of extra rice flour to keep it from sticking to the rolling pin. Make sure to roll it pretty thin.)

Carefully peel off the top layer of parchment, and using a knife, score the dough into squares.

Remove the rough edges of the dough (you can save the scraps to form more crackers).

Using a serving fork, prick a few rows of holes in each cracker. Then sprinkle lightly all over with sugar.

Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from oven and re-score along your previously cut lines by pressing straight down with a knife. (I think a pizza cutter works best. Make sure to do this while they are still hot.)

Remove crackers to a wire rack to cool.