Herbed Artichoke Chicken

I made this one last week but last week is a blur!!  If you are looking for something a little different for dinner, this is it!  It was delicious!  Salty and tasty.  This one is crazy easy to do too!

Combine 1 1/2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts, 14 oz drained diced tomatoes, 14 oz artichoke hearts, 1 diced small onion, 1 cup of chicken broth, 1/2 cup of kalamata olives, 1/4 cup of dry white wine, 3 Tbsp quick cooking tapioca, 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley, 2 tsp curry powder, 1 tsp dried sweet basil, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper in crockpot.  I prefer the fire roasted diced tomatoes.  There is so much more depth of flavor in them.  We don't drink much white wine, so I used a Chardonnay that we happened to have on hand.  But use any dry white that you like to drink.  I used Mezzata pitted kalamata olives, as opposed to canned.  They are so much more robust in flavor.  I like flat leaf parsley, it has a better texture and is easy to chop.

Stir to combine the ingredients.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or 3 1/2 to 4 hours on High.

The chicken just shreds, no knife needed.  The whole family loved it!  It makes 8 servings for 219 calories.  Definitely will be made again!

Italian Braised Short Ribs in Red Wine

,Monday was a great day for a play date!  The kids had not been sleeping well, so going out is insanity right now.  Hess' best friend came over for the morning.  Always so cute to watch them run around holding hands.  At age two, this is Hess' first friend.  It's nice too because her mommy is a lot like me in parenting styles, so it is really easy to talk to her!!  It made me feel like I had it all together, smelling the short ribs cooking during the play date!

Dinner was pretty easy to make, but we did eat late since this recipe takes a long time to cook!  To prep, I quartered 16oz of baby Bella mushrooms, and sliced 2 large yellow onions.  I put them in the fridge the night before to save myself some time.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Season 3 lbs of beef short ribs with salt and pepper.  I added 2 Tbsp of olive oil but the recipe did not call for any oil.  Add the ribs to the pan.  Do not crowd the ribs or they won't brown well.  Cook the ribs 6-8 minutes or until browned on all sides.  Place them into the crockpot.

Add onions to the skillet.  Cook and stir 3-5 minutes until they are tender.  Add 2 minced garlic cloves, mushrooms, 2 cups of dry red wine, 2 cups of beef broth and 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning to the skillet.  Always use wine you would drink, not something cheap.  We used a 2009 Beaulieu Vineyards Red Wine.  Cook for 3 minutes.  Pour over the ribs.

Cook on low 10-12 hours or on high 6-8 hours.  I recommend the low and slow method.  It recommends serving it with mashed potatoes.  I made mine with 4 red potatoes, 4 Tbsp of butter, about 3/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese, Tbsp of sour cream, salt and pepper to your liking and milk until the potatoes are as creamy as you desire.  I highly recommend serving it with mashed potatoes.  The hubby really liked it.  Hess didn't but it was late and he's two!  I thought it was good but I have made better.  It was a rough night for little Hess so pictures were not taken.

It makes 8 servings for 279 calories but this excludes the mashed potatoes.

Beef Bourguignon

NnYesterday was the perfect day for a crockpot meal.  Hess and I had a date to go into the city to see Daddy at work while Diane stayed with the babysitter.  In the hectic rush of the morning, I managed to get everything in the crockpot before we left.  So, while we were off on an adventure, dinner was cooking.  Hess was so excited to take the train and loved seeing his daddy!

Cut 3 lbs of boneless beef top sirloin steak into 1 inch pieces.  Usually I would just buy precut stew pieces but this time I didn't.  It was worth the extra couple minutes.  The beef was so tender.  Coat the beef with flour.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add 4 slices of diced bacon.  Cook and stir the bacon until partially cooked.  Add the beef and brown on all sides.  

Layer 2 diced medium carrots, 8 quartered small red potatoes, 8 sliced mushrooms, 20 pearl onions, 3 minced cloves of garlic, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp dried marjoram, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp salt, black pepper and the beef mixture in the crockpot.  I used baby Bella mushrooms, I feel like they have more flavor than white mushrooms.  I also used frozen pearl onions as opposed to fresh.  Fresh ones are very time consuming and difficult.  The frozen ones taste just as good.  Pour 2 1/2 cups of beef broth over all the ingredients.  Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours.  Don't forget to discard the bay leaf before eating.  

It was delicious!  Of course anything with bacon is good!

Smoked Sausage and Bean Soup

It has been quite a week!! Both Hess and Diane had a pretty bad virus.  When your toddler is sick, lots of kisses, hugs, cuddles and kids shows will make them feel better.  But when a newborn is sick, nothing helps.  So the week was full of Bubble Guppies, Umi Zoomi and screams and tears.  Already this week has started better!  

Miss Diane is three months old, as of Monday.  How did that happen?!  Growing and developing every day!!

The smoked sausage and bean soup was easy enough to start.  Combine 28 ounces of chicken broth, 1 1/2 cups of hot water, 1 cup of dried black beans, 1 cup of chopped onion, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp sugar and a sprinkling of ground red pepper in the crockpot. I did not have ground red pepper, so I substituted with red pepper flakes.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.  I always prefer to cook on low, it seems to cook better.

Spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray.  Heat the skillet on medium high heat.  Add 6 ounces of smoked sausage.  Cook 8 minutes, allowing the sausage to get brown.  Drain the fat and add the sausage to the skillet.

Add 1 cup of chopped tomato, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1 1/2 tsp cumin, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes on high.  It says to sprinkle with cilantro but I forgot and it tasted fine.  It is only 150 calories and makes 9 servings!

I was not feeling well when the soup was done, so I am really not the best judge.  Hess loved the smoked sausage pieces, even ate most of the pieces out of mine as well!  The hubby said it was delicious.  I had it as leftovers for lunch today and I think the taste got even better.  I definitely recommend making it if you are looking for an easy soup on a cold day!!