Quick and Simple Spanish Paella

The ingredient list is long, but it’s mostly things you should have in the pantry already, with the exception of the sausage and seafood.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast tenderloins
½ pound linguica sausage, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 large red or green bell pepper, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of paprika
2 cups of rice
4 cups of chicken broth
¼ teaspoon of saffron
1 pound of shrimp, cleaned and deveined

1/2 pound of bay scallops
12-18 mussels, scrubbed
¼ cup of chopped parsley
1 package of frozen peas

Preparation:
Cook the onion, bell pepper, and garlic in the olive oil until the onion gets tender.
Remove the onion, bell pepper, and garlic.
Add the linguica and chicken to the pan and cook until well done.
Add the tomatoes and spices to the pan and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
Cook the rice in the chicken broth with the saffron while the other food simmers.
Stir the rice into the meat mixture.
Add the frozen peas, shrimp, and stir into the paella.
Heat through about 5 minutes. Add the mussels and cook for 5 minutes longer.
Srpinkle parsley over the top.
Serve with Sangria if you desire.

Photo/MJ LaFlaca on Flickr

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Triple Decker Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

Easy Cheesy Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup packed spring mix lettuce leaves
1/4 cup chopped green olives
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
Dijon style mustard
12 slices wheat bread
12 thin slices baked ham
4 thick slices Provolone cheese
4 slices Jack Cheese

Preparation
Mix together the mayonnaise and chopped green olives.
Lay four slices of bread on a cutting board and spread the mayonnaise mixture on them.
Cover with a slice of ham and a slice of Provolone cheese and some lettuce leaves.
Lay four slices of bread on top of that and spread the Dijon mustard on them.
Cover with a slice of ham and the Jack cheese and more lettuce leaves.
Top with the remaining slices of bread and secure with a fancy toothpick.
Slice on the diagonal.
Serve with Broccoli Cheese Soup.

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Baked Ham with Orange Pineapple Glaze

Ginger sweet potato casserole (Just click the link for the recipe.)

Spring Salad
Hot bakery dinner rolls

This can be a simple Easter or Spring dinner for your family. Just add some of your own favorite dishes to the menu and you're set.

Ingredients:
8 to 10 pound fully cooked ham, bone in spiral sliced
Whole cloves
½ cup red wine
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 jar (12 ounces) orange marmalade
1 can (13 ounces) drained pineapple chunks
6 sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons of butter
1 small orange
2 tablespoons of half and half
2 eggs
½ teaspoon of powdered ginger
½ teaspoon of salt
4 cups of spring salad mix
1 tomato, cut up
½ cucumber, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Preparation:
Stud the spiral slices with whole cloves putting in more if you like a strong flavor and less if you like it less spicy.
Put ham on a rack in a shallow roasting pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated 325-degree oven 18 to 25 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Take the temperature close to the bone.
In a small saucepan, mix wine, mustard and jam and pineapple. Warm over low heat. Uncover ham. Baste ham every 15 minutes with jam mixture during the last 45 minutes.
While the ham is cooking, prepare the sweet potato casserole.
Toss together the lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and walnuts for the salad.
Warm the dinner rolls in the oven in a tin foil wrapper.

You can use some of the leftover ham to make:

Grilled Ham and Havarti Sandwiches

Triple Decker Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

Cornmeal Waffles with Ham and Eggs

Creamy Ranch Potatoes with Ham

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Cornmeal Waffles for Dinner

Side dish: Ham and Scrambled Eggs
You might also want to try San Francisco Style Eggs and Potatoes as a side dish.

Cornmeal waffles have a crunchy texture and a terrific flavor. Cut into quarters, they are perfect to serve as bread with stews, chicken, and seafood. Plan on making extra and freezing them in individual plastic bags. While you are cooking them, keep them warm in a 200 degree oven, spread out single layer on a baking sheet. Don’t stack them; they will get soggy if you do.

Ingredients:
1 cup of flour
1 cup of cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 cups of milk or buttermilk
2 eggs, whipped
4 tablespoons of butter, melted
For the ham and eggs:
8 eggs
2 tablespoons half and half
1 green onion, chopped
½ cup of chopped ham
½ teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon of pepper

Preparation:
Mix together the dry ingredients and make a well in the center.
Add the milk, eggs, and butter, and stir only until just combined. The batter will be lumpy.
Pour ½ cup of batter on the waffle iron and cook until the timer goes off. The waffles should be golden brown and lightly crispy at the edges.
If the batter is too thick, meaning it doesn’t spread by itself across the griddle, add milk 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time till it is the right consistency.
While the waffles are cooking, whip the remaining 8 eggs with 2 tablespoons of half and half, the salt and pepper.
Stir in ½ cup of chopped ham and chopped green onions.
Spray a pan with cooking spray preheat it.
Pour in the egg mixture. Do not stir it. Instead, gently lift the edges and allow the raw egg mixture to run underneath. Do this 2 or 3 times.
Cover the pan with a lid and keep warm until the waffles are ready.
Heat some syrup in the microwave until it is warm.
Serve the waffles and eggs with syrup, whipped cream, and fruit if you desire.

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Dinner Magic Menus March Week 3

All the ingredients for these meals are listed on the Dinner Magic Shopping List for March Week 3.

Alfredo Chicken and Vegetable Linguini

Portobello Stroganoff

Beef Pepper Steak with Orange over Rice

Mu Shu Beef and Cabbage Rolls

Turkey in a Sweet and Tangy Sauce

Garlic Chicken with Thyme over Gnocchi

Chicken in Beer with Potatoes

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Dinner Magic Shopping List March Week 3

This shopping list has all the ingredients needed for the Dinner Magic Menus for March Week 3.

Meats:
2 or 3 turkey legs
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 bone-in skinless chicken breasts
1 pound of chicken breast tenderloins
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound beef round steak

Dairy:
1 small package of prepared gnocchi
8 ounces of sour cream
Real butter, not margarine

Frozen Food:
1 package of broccoli florets
1 package of frozen stir-fry vegetables

Fresh Produce:
10 russet potatoes
3 white onions
1 bunch of green onions
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
12 ounces of Portobello mushrooms
1 package of shredded cabbage for coleslaw
1 carrot or one small bag of grated carrots
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 small package of fresh baby spinach
1 head of iceberg or romaine lettuce
1 bunch of parsley
2 tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 head of garlic or one jar of crushed garlic
2 navel oranges
1 lemon
2 cups of green beans (frozen if fresh aren’t available)

Canned Food:
1 can of chicken broth
1 can of vegetable broth
1 jar of Alfredo sauce

Dry Food and Staples:
Instant tapioca
Cooking oil
8 burrito sized tortillas
Sugar
Cornstarch
Rice
1 pound spinach or regular fettucini
1 pound linguini
Grated Parmesan cheese

Spices and Condiments:
Salt and pepper
Ground poultry seasoning, ground thyme,
Dijon style mustard
Maple flavored syrup
1 bottle of stout beer or ale
Worcestershire sauce
Pearl River soy sauce
Kitchen Bouquet cooking sauce
Salad dressing of your choice
Balsamic vinegar
Hoisin sauce or plum sauce

Other items for your own personal shopping list:

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Garlic Chicken with Thyme over Gnocchi

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of crushed garlic
1 teaspoon of ground thyme
4 skinless chicken breasts, bone-in
Juice of one orange
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
1 small package of prepared gnocchi (find this in the refrigerated section of your grocery)
Fresh green beans (frozen if fresh aren’t available)

Preparation:
Place the chicken in the slow cooker.
Sprinkle the garlic, thyme, orange juice, and balsamic vinegar over the top.
Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on high 3 hours.
Cook the gnocchi according to package directions. (If you can’t find gnocchi, substitute with potatoes.)
Steam the green beans in the microwave.

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Turkey in a Sweet and Tangy Sauce

This easy meal cooks all day in the crock pot. All you have to do is enjoy it.

Ingredients:
4 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 onion, quartered
2 or 3 turkey legs
1/3 cup of Dijon style mustard
1/3 cup maple flavored syrup
1 tablespoon of tapioca (for thickening)
Lettuce, tomato, and cucumber for a salad
Salad dressing

Preparation:
Place the potatoes and onions in a slow cooker.
Lay the turnkey legs on top.
Mix the mustard, syrup, and tapioca together.
Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3 hours.
Serve with a tossed salad.

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Mu Shu Beef and Cabbage Rolls

Invite the taste of China home in this 15 minute meal.

Ingredients:
8 burrito sized tortillas
1 pound of lean ground beef
4 chopped green onions
3 cups of shredded cabbage for coleslaw
1 grated carrot
¼ cup of hoisin sauce (You may use plum sauce if you want a sweeter dish.)
1 tablespoon of cooking oil

Preparation:
Heat the oil in a skillet.
Cook the beef and onion until the beef is well done.
Add the cabbage and carrot and cover to steam for about 5 minutes until it is tender.
Stir in the hoisin sauce.
Place the tortillas on a plate and cover with a clean dishtowel.
Warm the tortillas in the microwave for 20 seconds.
To eat, place some filling on a tortilla and roll up like a burrito.
Serve with additional plum sauce for dipping.

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Beef Pepper Steak with Orange over Rice

Ingredients:
1 pound of beef round steak
1 teaspoon of orange zest
Juice of one whole orange
½ red bell pepper and ½ green bell pepper, or any combination of bell pepper, sliced into strips
4 green onions, chopped
4 cups of shredded fresh spinach
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon Pearl River soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
2 cups of rice (I usually mix ½ brown and ½ white rice for a richer flavor)

Preparation:
Put the beef in the freezer for ½ hour.
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
Stir in the rice, lower heat to a simmer, and cover and cook for 20-25 minutes.
When the beef is partially frozen, slice across the grain into thin strips.
Preheat the oil in a pan.
Add the garlic and cook for one minute.
Add the beef and cook until medium-well done.
Add the peppers and onions and cook until they begin to soften, about 1-2 minutes.
Add the spinach and cook until it wilts, about 1 minute.
Stir together the soy sauce, sugar, orange zest, orange juice and cornstarch. Add to the pan.
Stir together until thickened and serve over the hot rice.

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Portobello Stroganoff

Portobello mushrooms take the place of the meat in this classic favorite.

Ingredients:
1 pound of plain or spinach fettucini
1 cup of sour cream
2 tablespoons of flour
¾ cup of vegetable broth
1 tablespoon of Kitchen Bouquet cooking sauce
¼ teaspoon of black pepper
12 ounces of Portobello mushrooms tops, cut into thin slices
1 tablespoon of butter
1 onion, quartered
1 clove of garlic, crushed, or 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic
Fresh parsley
1 package of frozen broccoli
½ lemon

Preparation:
Cook the fettucini in boiling water according to package directions.
Melt the butter in a pan.
Cook the garlic in the butter for two minutes.
Add the mushrooms and onions and cook until tender.
Stir together the sour cream broth, Kitchen Bouquet, and pepper and add to the pan.
Simmer until it begins to thicken.
Drain the noodles.
Cook the broccoli in the microwave oven.
Squeeze some lemon juice over the top of the broccoli. Grate some lemon zest over it.
Serve the stroganoff over the fettucini, garnished with sprigs of parsley.

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Chicken in Beer with Potatoes

This recipe will serve 6 people, and it can easily be cut in half for a smaller family.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 onion, chopped
8 ounces of sliced mushrooms
1 cup of chicken broth
½ cup of stout beer or ale
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon of ground poultry seasoning
½ teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon of pepper
6 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
Lettuce, tomato, and cucumber for a salad
Salad dressing

Preparation:
Heat the oil in a pan.
Cook the chicken with the onion until the chicken is browned on all sides.
Add the mushrooms, broth, beer, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings.
Cover and cook at a low simmer for 25 minutes.
Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender.
Smash the potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Serve the chicken over a bed of potatoes with a tossed dinner salad on the side.

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Alfredo Chicken and Vegetable Linguini

Dinner in 15 minutes? You betcha!

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breast tenderloins
1 tablespoon of butter
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 small bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables
1 jar of Alfredo sauce
1 pound of linguini
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Preparation:
Cook the linguini in boiling water according to package directions.
Melt the butter in a pan and cook the garlic in it for two minutes.
Cook the chicken in the butter and garlic until browned and cooked through.
Add the stir-fry vegetables and the Alfredo sauce.
Drain the linguini and stir into the chicken mixture.
Serve immediately with grated Parmesan cheese.

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