Sunday, January 10, 2010

Black Eyed Pea Soup

Since it has been so cold, I've been making some new WARM recipes in the crock pot. Here is one that I got brave and made, wasn't sure I'd like black eyed peas... I am not the typical southern cook nor eater. However, Mark and I both loved it and have plenty of leftovers for lunches this week!

Ingredients:
-1 pound dried black eyed peas
-1 pound spicy sausage, I used Hillshire Farm Hot Smoked Sausage
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- 4 cloves garlic, diced
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:
- Soak your beans overnight. Drain in the morning.
- Use a 5 to 6 quart crockpot. This will serve about 8 people.
- Dice the veggies, and dump them into your crockpot with the pre-soaked beans.
- Add sliced sausage.
- Pour in broth, and stir in Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for about 6.

Tips from Kitchen of Reality:
- I hate tiny diced up onions-- so I peeled and then cut the onion in half and put it in the crock pot. It left the flavor and then I took it out before serving.
- Mark and I both hate celery, so we left that out too.
- The spicy sausage was AWESOME!! Totally flavored the whole dish.
- This is a great dish to serve with cornbread.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Stuffed Chicken

4 chicken breasts
10 black olives, chopped
3 oz crumbled Feta cheese
4 tsp sundried tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp dried dill
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Mix and stuff in chicken breasts.


Marinade

5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
pinch of S&P
2 tsp honey
1 tbsp vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp oil

Brush on chicken while grilling

Cook time: 7-10 minutes

Rhina's Tomato Basil Salad

4 medium tomatoes, sliced
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil or 2 tsp dried basil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tsp shredded or grated Parmesan cheese

Arrange tomatoes on plate. Sprinkle with basil.

In small bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, sugar and pepper - pour over tomatoes.

Sprinkle Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses on top. Cover and refrigerate.

Strawberry Congealed Salad

2 1/2 c chopped pretzels
3 tbsp sugar
3/4 c butter (softened - this does not mean melted!)
8 oz cream cheese
2 c cool whip
1 c sugar (I know I've already said sugar...just go with me here)
2 c boiling water
6 oz strawberry Jello
20 oz frozen sliced strawberries

Combine first 3 ingredients. Press in bottom of 9x12 in dish. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Mix next 3 ingredients and pour on top of cooled pretzels. Dissolve Jello in boiling water. Mix in frozen strawberries. Put Jello mix in fridge until almost set. Pour on top of cream cheese and congeal.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Garlic Basil Shrimp

Mark found this recipe in BH&Gardens and cooked it for me on New Year's Day. I think he's been living with me a little too long, because he actually changed/altered the recipe way more than I would have. Those notes are at the bottom.


Ingredients:
6 oz whole wheat or plain fettuccini
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 lbs frozen shrimp: thawed, peeled, and deveined
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Directions:
- Cook pasta, drain, and keep warm.
- Heat oil and add shrimp, cook 4 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Remove shrimp from pan.
- To pan add garlic and red pepper flakes.
- Cook about 30 seconds.
- Add wine- cook about 1 minute.
- Stir in tomatoes and basil.
- Return shrimp to pan and heat through.
- Serve over pasta.

Tips from Kitchen of Reality:
- If you don't like spice- be sure to note the 1/8 tsp-- Mark added 1/2-- it wasn't too spicy at dinner that night -- we both like spicy anyways-- but the leftovers the next day left a nice burning sensation for quite awhile.
- It's winter so we had no fresh basil, so Mark used some of the pesto I made this fall. Smart way to get the flavor without having to spend a fortune on herbs.
- Overall, a very tasty recipe.