Trying to Make Thursday Supper a Thing

Recently I swapped my hours at work on Thursdays to the morning, so I found myself with more time to actually plan and execute a meal, instead of the usual leftovers we tend to have when both my husband and I get home between 5:30 and 6 pm and both feel not especially like cooking.

This week I made pan-seared salmon and broccoli gratin, and I felt weirdly empowered by cooking the salmon myself.  Generally I make the husband grill it.

Anyway!  Recipe links follow with pictures.

I don’t know if you could call it a recipe so much, but this lovely tidbit from Food & Wine made cooking the salmon super easy.

I put a little bit of the marinade the salmon had been sitting in (just an equal mix of olive oil and lemon juice) in the pan as the oil.  I love my cast iron.  😀

The urge to try broccoli gratin came as I was flipping through my copy of Michael Symon’s 5 in 5 for All Seasons.  There is a recipe for broccoli gratin that sounded good, but I didn’t have some of the ingredients.  The description of the recipe, though, said it was a more gourmet version of regular broccoli gratin, which I proceeded to look up and find an awesome recipe on Food Network’s website that I had everything for and turned out deliciously.

The breadcrumbs maybe got a little too toasty in the pan before I put them on top, but still great.

The hubby’s finished plate.  A healthy meal that feels like cheating because, well, cheese.  No need for a starch!  🙂

You can combine with a salad if you’d like…I had a veggie blend after dinner because I forgot, or if you’d like the salmon would be great on top of some couscous or rice.

Happy eating!

 

Kick*ss Cheddar Biscuits and Chicken Noodle Soup

Now that we’re finally moved into the new house I’m again stretching my cooking muscles. As the weather is changing I decided to try my hand at a quick chicken noodle soup and biscuits.

Enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Soup
Curtesy of Rachel Ray

Ingredients:

• (2) tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pan)
• (2) medium carrots (I used baby carrots and cut them into bite sized pieces)
• (1) medium onion, chopped (I had a vidalia onion in house, but you can use anything you prefer)
• (2) ribs celery, chopped
• (2) bay leaves, fresh or dried
• Salt and pepper
• (6) cups low sodium chicken stock
• (1) pound chicken breast tenders, diced
• (1/2) pound wide egg noodles (I used about half the bag, you can use more or less)
• A handful fresh parsley, chopped
• A handful fresh dill, chopped

Directions:

Place a large pot over moderate heat and add extra-virgin olive oil. I recommend you add the veggies in the order they are listed to the pot as you chop them up.

Add bay leaves and season vegetables with salt and pepper, to taste. Add stock to the pot and raise flame to bring liquid to a boil. Add diced chicken tenderloins, return soup to a boil, and reduce heat back to moderate. Cook chicken about 2 minutes and add noodles. Cook soup an additional 6 minutes or until noodles are tender and remove soup from the heat.

Stir in parsley and dill, remove bay leaves and serve.

This is an ingredient heavy soup so I ended up adding about 2 cups of water to increase the broth. Just remember to season to taste before serving.

Enjoy!

Cheese – Garlic Biscuits
Curtesy of Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

• (2) cups Original Bisquick™ mix
• (2/3) cup milk
• (1/2) cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• (2) tablespoons butter
• (1/8) teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Heat oven to 450ºF.

Stir Bisquick mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms. Drop dough spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet (you can get 7-9 biscuits). I used an un-greased nonstick cookie sheet, but I recommend greasing your cookie sheet for easier removal.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

While your biscuits are in the oven melt the butter in the microwave. After it’s liquified stir together butter and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits.

* I think the next time I make these I might add chopped chives to add a different layer or flavor.

Enjoy!

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup Mac n Cheese

I can’t believe I hadn’t posted this recipe yet, because it’s one of the best things I’ve ever made, in my opinion.  Warm and comforting, delicious even on hot days.

I modified the recipe found for Grandpa John’s Mac n Cheese found here.

And a note, this is a double recipe, but it feeds Jeff and I for about 3 days, if that gives you any indication of how quickly the leftovers disappear.

Ingredients

1 lb elbow macaroni
1 package (abt 15 oz) ricotta cheese
10 oz (a bag and a half ) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 (10 oz) cans condensed tomato soup
15 oz (roughly a tomato soup can and a half) milk

Directions

– Preheat oven to 350 degrees- Place ricotta in a large (and I do mean LARGE) mixing bowl
– Cook pasta in boiling salted water for half of the cook time listed on the box (generally around 5 or 6 minutes)
– Drain pasta and pour over ricotta
– Mix together
– Stir in one bag of shredded cheese, followed by the tomato soup and the milk
– Mix until fully incorporated

Now pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish, and bake for 25 – 30 minutes.  When this time is up, switch the oven to broil, layer some more cheddar cheese on top, and broil for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and a little crispy.

Depending on the amount of milk put in, the inside will still be a little liquidy, but it sets up as it cools.
Below is the finished product.
And I’m stuffed.  🙂