Tag Archives: onion

One Pot Wonder

Recently, a friend shared her recipe for One-Pot Pasta Bolognese, which she modified from a Betty Crocker recipe. I thought it still needed something, so….

One Pot Spaghetti

I decided red wine and mushrooms were what this dish needed. I’ve been playing with this recipe for a while, and finally have something that doesn’t sit in the refrigerator as a leftover.

One Pot Spaghetti
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8 servings
 
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion,chopped
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 2-14 ounce cans diced tomatoes
  • 4 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • ½ chipotle pepper
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 32 ounces beef broth
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 12 ounces thin whole wheat spaghetti
  • ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • ½ cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and mushrooms. Saute until tender, 8-10 minutes.
  2. Add hamburger, cook until it is browned.
  3. Stir in tomato paste, diced tomatoes,broth, wine,and seasonings. Bring to a gentle boil.
  4. Break spaghetti into fourths. Tuck the spaghetti into the sauce, making sure the spaghetti is completely covered.
  5. Reduce heat to medium low, cook 15-17 minutes, until pasta is at your desired consistency.
  6. Top with cheese and basil

I’ve since found a few other one pot pasta dishes, hope to try some of them in the near future. These would be great for camping, too!

Homemade Stir Fry Sauce

I’ve been sharing a lot of stir fry recipes over the past few months. The great thing about making a stir fry is that you can put almost any vegetable in the pan, and it will taste good. This recipe is unique because I made my own stir fry sauce this time. I found this article on Food and Family detailing several different stir fry sauces. I thought both of the lemon sauces looked good, so I decided to try combining the recipes.

Lemon Stir Fry Sauce

I used an interesting combination of vegetables in this stir fry-pepper, carrots, celery, onion, and cabbage. Yum!

Lemon Stir Fry
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • Juice of 3 lemons
  • Grated peel of 2 lemons
  • ½ cup chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ large onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 large carrots, thinly sliced
  • 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
  • 2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
  • ½ large head of cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 2-3 tablespoons peanut oil
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice
Instructions
  1. Combine lemon juice and peel, chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes. Marinate the chicken breast in 1-2 tablespoons of the sauce while you chop the rest of the vegetables, about 15 minutes.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil in wok or large skillet. Drain chicken, discarding marinade. Stir fry chicken and garlic until cooked through. Remove from wok.
  3. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Stir fry until they just start to soften.
  4. Add peppers and cabbage. Continue to stir fry until everything is tender crisp.
  5. Return chicken to the wok. Add reserved lemon sauce. Stir fry until everything is heated through.
  6. Serve over rice.

 

Getting Into a Routine

Yesterday was the end of the third week of the first term of my clinical doctorate program. The work is about what I expected, but I am spending more time than I expected doing homework. It has been a long time since I wrote a paper! I got my first one back yesterday and did well, so I guess it must be like riding a bike.

Bratwurst and Beer Soup

We spent our entire Christmas break in Wisconsin. Being home was so much fun! When we got cabbage in our first box after we got back, I found this recipe from Allrecipes.com for a bratwurst soup. The recipe looked good, but it was missing an important Wisconsin bratwurst ingredient-beer! I have remedied that in my version. This was excellent reheated. Enjoy!

Bratwurst and Beer Soup
Recipe type: Main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6-8
 
Ingredients
  • 1 pound bratwurst
  • 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 12 ounce bottle beer
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ a large head of cabbage, chopped
  • 3 cups milk, divided
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 4 ounces Swiss cheese, diced
Instructions
  1. Remove the casing from the bratwurst. Brown in a Dutch oven, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Drain.
  2. To the Dutch oven, add the potatoes, onion, beer, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
  3. Add cabbage. Return to a boil and the simmer for another 20 minutes.
  4. Add 2½ cups milk. Heat slowly until the soup is almost at a boil.
  5. In a small bowl, combine remaining ½ cup milk and the flour. Stir until smooth. Add to soup, stirring well to remove all lumps.
  6. When the soup has thickened, add the cheese and stir until it is melted.

 

New Mexico Style Black Bean Soup

Soup in the crock pot on a windy night. Can’t beat that! I can’t believe it is already the third week of Advent. The last few weeks have just flown by. I don’t usually use the crock pot on weekends, but it definitely helps on these busy days during the holiday season (AKA, finals week).

New Mexico Style Black Bean Soup

The inspiration for this recipe came from Allrecipes.com. I used a number of items from our last 2 boxes to create this nicely spiced soup.

New Mexico Style Black Bean Soup
Recipe type: Soup, Main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4-6
 
Ingredients
  • ½ pound dried black beans
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • ½ large onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 bunch Swiss chard, leaves separated from stems and both chopped
  • ½ cup chopped roasted green chile
  • 2 medium carrots, chopped
  • ¾ pound small red skinned potatoes, quartered
  • 6 cups chicken broth
Instructions
  1. Soak black beans overnight, rinse.
  2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and the chopped chard stems. Saute until onion is translucent and vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
  3. Place beans, sauteed vegetables, carrots, green chile, potatoes, and chicken broth in crock pot. Cook on low for 6-7 hours.
  4. Add chopped chard leaves to crock and turn the heat to high. Cook an additional hour, until chard leaves are soft.