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For Working Folks - cjs - 06-12-2011
I loved these kind of ideas when I was working and/or raising the kids. I though of you all (poor babies
) and your frantic week night dinners when I played with this dish. I made the whole amount of filling for the C@H stuffed peppers last week, but only made 4 peppers, so had lots left over. so, here an idea for y'all.
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This is such a versatile mixture to have on hand when you are short of time. I stuffed pepper one night, added a portion of it to some roasted tomato soup for an evening dinner, also added it to a tortilla with lettuce, onion, fresh tomatoes for a taco/burrito thing. I have a portion left and I think I’ll add it to some pasta with a little Parmesan/Asiago.
Jambalaya Pepper Filling – adapted from:
C@H, Issue #43, Feb. 2004
2 cups cooked rice
8 oz. turkey kielbasa, cubed
8 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
Note: sub the above meat with ground beef, ground turkey, or a combination of any of these)
1 T. olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2 T. Cajun spice mix, see below
2 large cloves garlic, minced
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
Sauté kielbasa and chicken in oil in a skillet for 2 minutes. Add vegetables, spice mix, and garlic, cook 3-5 minutes. Stir in cooked rice and tomatoes; simmer 5 minutes or until tomato liquid is absorbed. Cool mixture slightly; transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until needed.
Cajun Spice mix – makes 2 T. add all of it to the above mixture.
Combine:
1 tsp. each: paprika, kosher salt, garlic powder
1/2 tsp. each: black pepper, onion powder, cayenne, dried oregano, dried thyme
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Darn near takes care of a week's worth of dinner and the flavors differ so you don't feel you're eating the same darn thing.
Re: For Working Folks - Harborwitch - 06-12-2011
Thanks for posting that - it will come in handy here for those nights when creative juices are gone.
Re: For Working Folks - Gourmet_Mom - 06-12-2011
Thanks for the ideas, Jean. I'll test it out this summer. This would be a great weekend project to freeze portions for separate meals for William and myself. Copied and saved.
As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to pull together some of these fast and easy dinners for a separate cookbook in MC. Then I'll have a place to go when I can't think of anything. It's difficult to wade through all the separate cookbooks looking for something like this.
Re: For Working Folks - cjs - 06-12-2011
Daphne, I don't know how you feel about Campbell's Tomato soup, but I always have a case of it in the pantry that I can doctor up with any leftovers I have in the frig. Coming up with the 'later' food (from having main meal in the middle of the day) can sometimes be a challenge. But, I find I can add anything to tomato soup and we love it. Splitting a sandwich and that small meal is taken care of. Which you could do with not splitting a sandwich - your whole dinner would be taken care of.
Remember when our mom's served us Tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich???? Maybe your's didn't, but I loved the meal.
Re: For Working Folks - Gourmet_Mom - 06-12-2011
We didn't have grilled cheese at my house, but I would enjoy a grilled ham and cheese now.....well, maybe in the colder months...LOL! I'm hoping to make some tomato soup and marinara this summer. The tomato corp looks good right now.
Re: For Working Folks - labradors - 06-12-2011
Quote:
Daphne, I don't know how you feel about Campbell's Tomato soup, but I always have a case of it in the pantry that I can doctor up with any leftovers I have in the frig.
I'm all over that. Just about lived on tomato soup with milk, macaroni and ground beef in my school-lunch Thermos (since I wasn't crazy about cold sandwiches at the time). Had that combination day in and day out for most of my childhood and I'm STILL not tired of it!
Re: For Working Folks - Mare749 - 06-12-2011
Thanks for posting this, Jean. Lots of creative ideas here to work with! Not sure why I ignored the recipe first time around, but it sure sounds good now.
We love grilled cheese and tomato soup any time of the year! I buy the soup by the case.
Re: For Working Folks - Trixxee - 06-12-2011
Great ideas jean! Thank you! I will need some of these time saving ideas once school is back in session. I know I say this every year but I want to be really organized with Mon-Thurs dinners. It will be a lot easier to help Michael with his homework if I'm not stressed out at 5:30pm trying to get something on the table.
Re: For Working Folks - Gourmet_Mom - 06-12-2011
Trixxee, I will share my MC cookbook with you when I put it together. Jean has inspired me to create a cookbook for this.
Re: For Working Folks - cjs - 06-13-2011
What a great idea, Daphne, I have some ideas to send you also. Where were you when I was so frazzled????