Dinner at Casa Amy

Last nights dinner was fantastic! Thanks to HEB, I can create a quick and delicious meal full of flavor and rather healthy. It can be a challenge to pull this off every night, but with practice and all of the tips from other bloggers I am getting the hang of this thing.

Chicken Fajita skillet and Mexican Rice shared with good friends and family filled our bellies last night.

Chicken Fajita Skillet

HEB chicken fajita meat (I only used half of the package and fed four people easy)
1/2 sliced onion
1/2 package of sliced mushrooms
sliced bell pepper
1 jar of HEB Salsa Verde
Shredded Cheese

In skillet, heat some olive oil and saute veggies until onions are clear. Add chicken and cook about 10-12 minutes on each side. Top chicken and veggies with Half jar of salsa Verde and shredded cheese. (I used about half a package of the Colby jack and half package of the Monterrey.) Cover and simmer together until chicken is cooked through and cheese is melted.

Everything was on those sale with those oh so handy HEB yellow coupons. Delish!

Served with Mexican Rice

1 cup rice
1/2-1 chopped onion
1 chopped bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 can tomato sauce
1-2 chopped tomatoes
olive oil
Water or stock (chicken or beef)
Garlic salt, as needed

In skillet heat oil and add rice, garlic, onion and bell peppers. Saute veggies and brown rice until nice and golden. Stir continuously or it will stick and burn. As soon as the rice is golden brown add the tomato sauce. (This is where the red color of Spanish rice comes from, so don't miss this step) Add the chopped tomatoes and 2 1/4 cup of water or stock. Bring to a boil and then cover and lower to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Add garlic salt if needed.

The Best Green Beans Ever

I have something coming here soon. I promise.

UPDATE: Finally, a few more minutes to get this updated.

So, I am not sure if I have mentioned before, my affection for food. If so, then let me tell you again. I. LOVE. FOOD. Now, I am not jsut talking about eating, but really savoring the flavors of fantastic food. And even better, is getting to prepare something that taste extraordinary!

This weekend, I did just that. According to G, my green beans were the best ever. I prepare fresh green beans often because up until just a month ago, it was the only green thing I could get my child to eat. But, since then he has branched out a bit. Kuddo's to the maturing appetite of a pre-teen boy!

Back to the task at hand...I am going to share for you the exquisite green bean recipe and hopefully, jotting this down will help me remember exactly how it was done so we can enjoy this precious little gem of a recipe again.

Wash and trim your fresh green beans. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. I used the Bonsecco Oil from the Oil and Vinegar store. When the oil is hot, add in some slivered almonds, garlic and mushrooms. Saute these until golden brown. Add the green beans and more oil, as needed, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. After sauteeing the green beans, add some sherry and cook down over medium heat. I do think if I had not just finished off the bottle of dry, white wine the night before I would have used that instead of cooking sherry.

Keep in mind that they really are best when they are a little on the crunchy side.

Voila! The best green beans ever according to G.

I do know the picture would have been much more appetizing had it been a full pan, but it wasn't until after we ate half of them that we decided the concoction was worthy of recording.

"Roasted" Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

Yesterday, I decided to make spaghetti sauce for an event I was hosting in the evening. I started the sauce at 8am so it could cook down all day and the flavors would be perfectly blended by the evening. So, let me share with you my recipe and the adventures while preparing. Had I been really on the ball, I would have captured this in stages on camera. Next time, I'll try and treat you all to some photos.

First, I browned about a 1 1/2lbs of ground beef with a chopped yellow onion, 2 cloves of garlic and salt and pepper. Then, drain the meat and add back to the pot on low heat.

Add 2-3 cans of diced tomatoes, 1 can of stewed tomatoes, 2 cans of tomato paste, 2-3 cans of tomato sauce. Italian seasoning, brown sugar, beef broth. Cook on low for 3-4 hours.

Here is where things got interesting. I had to leave the house for a bit during the day. So, rather than leave the burner on unattended and risk burning down the house, I turned it off. When I came back home I turned the fire back on to medium. Now the plan was to heat the entire pot back up and then return the heat to low.

While the pot was heating up, I started a painting project in the spare bedroom. A friend came over and we had been painting away for at least an hour, when I became aware of the scent of "roasting" tomatoes. I dropped the paintbrush to the ground and rushed to find an entire pot of spaghetti sauce on the verge of ruin, scorched an inch thick on the bottom of the sauce pan. YIKES!

After uttering a few strategically placed harsh words, I suddenly found myself on a mission to rescue the spaghetti sauce remaining. As fast as I could, I removed the non-blacked portion of the spaghetti sauce from the pan and cleaned the sauce pan up. Ready to go again, I added the sauce back to the pan with a cup of beef bouillon and tomato sauce in hopes of thinning it out and masking any of the burnt taste that might be remaining.

After all was said and done, my guests began to arrive. There was still a faint scent of "burn" in the air as we served up dinner. As I sat down to try and choke down my own plate, it started. "This is such a great sauce," "Did you make this homemade?" "I love sauce like this."

It was all I could do to choke back the laughter. "Thank you, it's made with 'roasted' tomato's. Guess that is what the extra flavor comes from."

Want to try something delicious, simple and good for you. Sweet Potato fries are he answer. I had these first at Cafe Express and have fiddled around preparing them at home. The best and easiest method I have found so far is to oven bake them.

Just slice up 1-2 lbs of peeled sweet potatoes. The thinner they are sliced, the crispier the get. However, keep in mid this is NO easy feat. Slicing up a raw sweet potato is about as easy as lifting a 100 lb weight bar.

Mix the potatoes in a sealed bag or bowl with 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil, sea salt and paprika to taste.

Spread them out on a cookie sheet and bake at 350. Turning after about 15 minutes or golden brown.

Mmmm...I promise they will be a hit!