Our Brown Nest

May 11, 2012

Parmesan Bacon-wrapped Chicken topped with Bruschetta

Well... that is a mouth full of a title! This was a fun recipe for me. Taylor & I got in the kitchen and just had fun. [I love cooking with my hubby!] I knew I wanted chicken with bruschetta on top, but adding the bacon and Italian seasoning gave it a fabulous taste. It was SO good, and we have a bunch of leftovers :)!!! It had a nice smokey taste from the bacon with the freshness of the bruschetta on each bite! Mmmmm! Delicious!

Parmesan Bacon-wrapped Chicken topped with Bruschetta

Ingredients

6 boneless chicken breasts
12 pieces of bacon
1-2 Italian seasoning packets
1 cup Shredded Parmesan
Couscous [follow package directions]

Bruschetta (you can find the recipe here)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Place the seasoning packet in a bowl. Lay the chicken in the seasoning, covering both sides. Place on rack, on cookie sheet.

3. Wrap each piece of chicken with 2 pieces of bacon. Make sure to use a toothpick to hold the bacon in place.

4. Sprinkle the tops with Parmesan cheese.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

[While it's cooking, make the Bruschetta]

6. Serve with couscous or your favorite rice.

Enjoy!!

May 9, 2012

Ramen Slaw

A few months ago I got my wisdom teeth out and was craving Ramen noodles during that time. So, my amazing husband went to the store and came home with a 12 pack of Ramen! haha - he is so sweet! I only ended up eating 1 pack though... so we have a lot of Ramen noodles taking up space in our pantry. So, I recently made this Ramen Noodle Slaw as a side dish to a BBQ meal. I made it for our Care Group dinner, and it was a hit. I get nervous sometimes not knowing if other people are going to like something "new" I bring. But I left with an empty bowl, and that makes me happy!! :)

Ramen Slaw - This original recipe came from a friend of mine. Props to the Parks family! :)

Ingredients

2 cups of cabbage, chopped [about 1/2 a medium head of cabbage]
1 cup green onion
1 package Ramen Noodles, broken up [just noodles]
1/4 cup Sunflower seed kernels
*Seasoning packet from Ramen Noodles
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbs vinegar
1 1/2 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs sugar

1. Chop cabbage & onions. [I used onions I had in the freezer]

2. Mix together cabbage, onion, Ramen, and sunflower seed kernels.

[Note: If you are making this ahead, mix wet ingredients in separate bowl and add day of. If making it day of, add wet ingredients with dry.]

3. Add *seasoning packet, olive oil, vinegar, balsamic, and sugar. Mix well.

*I doubled ours when I made this, and only used 1 chicken seasoning packet, which was plenty. If you are making 1 batch, I would start by adding 1/2 of the seasoning packet and then taste after it's all mixed well. If you think it needs more, add the other 1/2.

How simple is that? Really easy and super yummy!

ENJOY!!

Also, try different flavored Ramen seasoning, you don't have to just use chicken. :)

May 7, 2012

Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers began as my go to "meatless" meal... next to salad. This one, however, is not meatless, but was a fun "what's in the fridge" meal. You really cannot mess stuffed peppers up. At least that's what I believe! I've got one consistent recipe I use for this, and the stuffing I always have fun with. :) So, my last post was on the pork meal, and we had some pork leftovers [even after Taylor took some for lunch] :). So, this is my "leftover pork stuffed pepper" recipe. Be creative and have fun! It is such a simple meal, and yet, healthy and filling!

Ingredients

1 can chicken stock
1 cup Trader Joe's Brown Rice [or any kind of rice you'd like]
Leftover Pork, finely chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1 small Roma tomato, diced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese [separated by 1/2] [not pictured]
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 red bell peppers

1. Bring chicken stock to boil, add 1 cup rice. Place on medium and let sit. Stirring occasionally. [The broth/rice ratio is 2 1/2 cups liquid (chicken stock) to 1 cup dry (rice)] Cook halfway.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the pork, onion, garlic, green pepper, Roma tomatoes [crushing the diced tomatoes in your hand before adding to the bowl to get the juices], 1/2 cup cheese, oregano, parsley, and red pepper flakes.

3. Rinse, cut, and clean insides out of red bell peppers. [Cutting the top of the pepper off to clean inside out. You may need to slice a tiny bit off the bottom to keep it standing up straight]

4. Once rice is halfway cooked, strain in a bowl, keep the chicken stock.

5. Add the rice to the bowl of ingredients. Stir.

6. Place the red bell peppers in a deep dish, standing them up right. Begin spooning ingredients into peppers.

7. Than carefully add chicken stock to dish, surrounding the peppers.

8. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, covered with aluminum.

9. Uncover, add 1/2 cup cheese to top the peppers, cook for 15 minutes, or until golden.

ENJOY!!

I loved these! This time I added the pork, red pepper flakes and cheddar cheese. You really can have so much fun with these, adding whatever you'd like inside. Next time I'm going to try Orzo pasta with zucchini and squash! Mmmmm!!! :)

May 4, 2012

Pork with Lemon Orzo

This meal... can someone say, winner?!! :) It was delicious. The pork is as easy as 123! [Seriously, you just stick it in the oven]. And the Lemon Orzo [originally from Food Network] is also so easy, and cooks in 15 minutes. My suggestion is letting the pork cook for a full 45 minutes before you even start with the orzo, and by the time the pork is done, the orzo will be done. Timing is everything :). Best past is Taylor really liked the pork/orzo combination, which makes me so glad! ;)

Pork

I bought a small pork from Walmart...

Garlic Onion flavored. Mmmmm!

Cook according to the package directions.

[Watch an episode of Robin Hood and then you're ready to cook the orzo. ;)]

Make sure to check the temp in the center of the pork to be sure it's cooked all the way through.

Thanks lovey!

Lemon Orzo

Ingredients

1 cup Orzo
2 tbs Olive Oil
1 tsp dried mint [I used 2 tsp fresh mint]
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
2 strips lemon zest [I did 2 tsp lemon zest instead of strips]
2 scallions, chopped
1 lemon, juice

1. Bring 2 1/2 cups water to boil. Add 1 cup orzo. Bring to simmer.

2. Add olive oil, mint, salt, paprika, and lemon zest to the pot. Let simmer, stirring occasionally.

3. Once orzo is cooked, about 12-15 minutes, remove from heat and let cool.

4. Add in juice of lemon...

[My suggestion is not using too much juice. I would even go as far as telling you to do only half of the lemon. But try 1 whole lemon and next time do half, if it was too much. Either way it's delicious!]

.. then scallions. Stir together.

ENJOY!!

What to do with all those leftover scallions??

Rinse and chop scallions.
Dry in a paper towel.

Place them in a freezer bag or an empty water bottle. [Mark date & item on bag or bottle]

Freeze and use within 6 months.

I've used an old water bottle before and that worked well. I am doing a freezer bag to see which I prefer better. I'll let ya know!

April 27, 2012

Lemon Garlic Shrimp with Spaghetti Squash

In attempt to eat healthier, lighter meals, I am slowly making transitions. [This is hard people! But I welcome the challenge, and any of your ideas]. I used Spaghetti Squash instead of real spaghetti pasta. It was a good decision! Taylor and I both really liked it, which was surprising. So, that means we will be able to cut some pasta out of our meals using the spaghetti squash, and that's exciting. :) The Lemon Garlic Shrimp is a recipe from the Pioneer Woman. Oh my, is it good!!! And incredible on top of the squash.

Spaghetti Squash

There are many ways you can choose to cook this. We were pressed for time, so I took the quickest route. I boiled the squash and it turned out perfect. I plan on trying baking it next time to see if there is a big difference. Here are both options:

Boil
1. Bring salted water to a boil in a big pot.
2. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. [Kind of like a pumpkin :)]
3. Place the spaghetti squash in the pot [try to keep skin side up].
4. Boil for 15-20 minutes, or until it's tender.
5. Carefully remove it from the pot onto a cutting board, let cool.

6. Using a fork, scrape the inside to get the strands of spaghetti out.

7. Drain to remove excess water.

Bake
1. Put fork holes all around the squash.
2. On a baking sheet, bake squash at 375 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
3. Remove it, let it cool, then begin using a fork to get the spaghetti strands out.

Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Ingredients
2 pounds raw shrimp, deveined, shell off
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup fresh parsley [I used 2 tsp dried parsley]
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 whole lemon, juiced
Half of lemon zest

1. Set oven to 375 degrees. Rinse frozen shrimp to separate, then place on baking sheet.

2. In a food processor, add cold butter, garlic, lemon juice and zest, salt, parsley, and red pepper.

Pulse until combined.

3. Sprinkle cold butter crumbles over the shrimp.

4. Bake until shrimp in opaque and butter is hot and bubbly.

5. Serve hot over spaghetti squash. [We didn't have bread with ours, but dipping the bread in the butter sauce is delicious too!!!]

ENJOY! :)

April 26, 2012

Chicken Stuffing & more

Sorry it has been a while since my last post. Taylor and I went home to Delaware to visit my family, and since being back we've been so busy. We had such an amazing time! We had a lot of laughs, play time and sweet biblical fellowship :). I'll post some photos at the end of this blog!
Since being back I've had a chance to make one meal for the blog... I'll post that on here as well. Chicken Stuffing! This meal is one of Taylor's favorites! Gisele sent it to me and it's even titled "Taylor's Favorite Chicken Stuffing". I hope it becomes your favorite too :).

Ingredients
About 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
8 oz. shredded Cheddar cheese
6-8 oz. package Chicken flavored stuffing mixes