Maple-Glazed Roasted Carrots

I forgot to bring my camera to Whitney's house to take pictures of Thanksgiving dinner. Sorry :)

When planning our menu for Thanksgiving, I was reminded of the rule my parents had for us when we were eating at buffets. We always had to have at least three colors on our plate. If not, we'd always come back with a plate full of carbs. My three colors were usually yellow (corn), green (salad or pickles), and white (mashed potatoes). For some reason, when you go to buffets, vegetables just aren't as enticing as all the carbs.

It's the same when planning a big menu. I find it so easy to think of carb side dishes but when I look at the overall menu, I realize I have 10+ carbs and 1 vegetable. So then I have to go back and edit down the list of carbs and add more vegetables. That's exactly what happened with this years menu. The only vegetables I had on the menu were corn and green bean casserole. I added these carrots at the last minute and I'm glad I did.

They taste like regular roasted carrots but the addition of maple syrup gives them just a touch of sweetness.

Maple-Glazed Roasted Carrots

Source: Kalyn's Kitchen Blog

1 lb carrots, peeled and cut on the diagonal line into the same size pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp maple syrup

salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400º. Heat olive oil in and oven proof frying pan to medium-hot. Add the carrots (you'll hear a slight sizzling sound). Saute carrots 3-4 minutes, or until the surface is slightly blistered and starting to color.

Turn down heat to low and add maple syrup and stir to coat carrots. Season well with salt and pepper.

Put frying pan into hot oven and roast carrots for 1o-15 minutes, or until they are slightly browned and done to your liking. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Roast Chicken with Balsamic Bell Peppers

Apparently, some couples find it romantic to cook dinner together. Neil and I are not one of those couples. For one, he has more interest in eating rather than cooking. But, I think the real fault lies with me: I'm a control freak. I like doing things my way and making sure I hit all of the bases. We've tried cooking a few times together and while we were able to produce a decent meal, it wasn't very romantic. So we save the romance for the candlelight dinners and the most Neil helps with dinner is cutting. The hubs likes dinners where he gets to help me out with cutting things so this was a perfect dish for him (and me).

Besides the fact that Neil got to help me out, we also liked this dish for the flavors. I suggest toning down the fennel seeds but other than that, it was delicious. We definitely recommend this one for both the couples who like to cook together and for the spouse that likes to cook alone in the kitchen.

Roast Chicken with Balsamic Bell Peppers

Source: The Novice Chef Blog

3/4 tsp salt, divided

3/4 tsp fennel seeds, crushed

1/2 tsp black pepper, divided

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dried oregano

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

cooking spray

2 cups thinly sliced red bell pepper

1 cup thinly sliced yellow bell pepper

1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots

1.5 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 450º. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine 1/2 tsp salt, fennel seeds, 1/4 tsp black pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Brush chicken with 1.5 tsp oil and sprinkle spice rub over chicken. Add 1.5 tsp oil to pan. Add chicken. Cook 3 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over and cook 1 minute. Arrange chicken in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes or until done.

Heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, shallots, and rosemary. Saute for 3 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium high. Stir in vinegar and remaining salt and pepper. Cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve bell pepper mixture over chicken. Enjoy!

Skillet Bruschetta Chicken

I love bruschetta. Absolutely love it. It just tastes so fresh and summery. Plus, I usually always have all the ingredients in my fridge to make it. Except for the basil. I've tried multiple times to keep a basil plant alive and I've failed each and every time. We usually have something with basil once a week and I always end up killing my basil plant or keeping the store bought leaves in the fridge until they wilt.

The hubs is kind of sick of spending money each week to buy more basil so he has convinced me to have all the meals with basil in one week. So, since I love bruschetta, I have two recipes for bruschetta chicken for you this week! This recipe is from The Milkman's Wife.

Skillet Chicken Bruschetta

Source: The Milkman's Wife

4 thin-cut chicken breasts

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried parsley

salt & pepper

2 ripe tomatoes, chopped

half a medium onion, chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1-1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar

parmesan cheese and fresh basil, for garnish

Mix flour, basil, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in the flour and shake off excess. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet, add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add chopped tomato and balsamic vinegar, cooking until vinegar is reduced and tomatoes are softened, about 5 more minutes. Remove mixture from skillet and set aside. Cove with foil to keep warm.

Melt butter in the same skillet. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to serving plater. Spoon sauce mixture over the chicken, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and basil. Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Once again, no picture :( I actually don't eat broccoli but my husband and our other friends assured me it was delicious! Broccoli cheese casserole seems like a staple at nearly all of my family's holiday meals. This is another recipe of my aunt's!

8 oz. jar Cheese WHiz

1/4 cup margarine, divided

20 oz frozen broccoli florets, thawed

1 cup crushed Ritz crackers

Boil broccoli without salt until soft and drain. Cook cheese and 2 tablespoons margarine until smooth. Add broccoli and 1/2 cup of crumbs to the cheese mixture. Place into a greased 8-in baking dish. Melt remaining margarine and toss with remaining crumbs. Sprinkle over broccoli mixture. Bake uncovered at 350º for 20-25 minutes.

This can be completely prepared ahead of time up to the buttered crumbs. On the day of, take out of refrigerator and allow to warm to room temp for about 30 minutes. Follow cooking directions and enjoy!

Roasted Asparagus

Like the pesto palmiers, roasted asparagus is an easy and quick dish to prepare for company. There is not a lot of preparation involved but they are delicious. While there are many ways to prepare it, this is my favorite!

2 bunches of medium asparagus

2 tbsp EVOO

1/2 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper

Grated or shaved Parmesan, optional

Preheat oven to 450º. Trim the woody ends from the asparagus. Spread the spears in a single layer n a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and roll to coat thoroughly.

Roast the asparagus until lightly browned and tender, about 8-10 minutes, giving the pan a good shake about halfway through to turn the asparagus. Arrange the roasted asparagus on a serving platter and top with some Parmesan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Shepherd's Pie

I’m one of those people who appreciate the plastic plates with dividers. Regardless of the fact that there aren’t nearly enough sections, I like being able to separate my food into 3 different areas on my plate. I sincerely dislike mixing my food. I love Thanksgiving but I find it so hard to separate all the many dishes and keep them from touching. So I usually end up just avoiding the edges where the foods have mixed. I might have a problem….

I’ve never had shepherd’s pie before for precisely this reason. I love mashed potatoes and I love ground beef in almost any dish but I don’t like to mix them. But the hubby requested it and it seemed like such a comfort food (we’ve been having some surprisingly cold weather) and the picture on Sing for Your Supper looked delicious!

This recipe is originally from For the Love of Cooking.

Mashed Potato Topping

5-6 large potat0es, peeled and cut into thirds

1/4 cup of milk

3 tbsp sour cream

2-3 tbsp butter

1/2 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Sea salt

Fresh cracked pepper

Boil a large pot of water. Boil your peeled and cut potatoes 10-12 minutes or until fork tender. Drain potatoes and place back into the pan. Add the milk, sour cream, butter, cheddar cheese, sea salt, and black pepper then mash with a masher or blend with a mixer until creamy and smooth. Cover with a lid and set aside.

Meat Filling and Sauce

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced

2 large carrots, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced (I used garlic powder)

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

1-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I used double this)

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 1/4 cup beef broth (I used chicken)

While the potatoes are boiling, preheat the oven to 400º. HEat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery then cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the lean ground beef and cook thoroughly, draining as needed. Add the salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Once the beef is done cooking, mix the peas into the mixture until well combined. Pour the beef filling into a large baking dish and set aside. In the same skillet, over medium heat, add the 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of flour. Mix thoroughly then slowly add the beef/chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper (I also added more Worcestershire). Pour the sauce over the beef mixture and mix thoroughly. Top the beef and vegetable mixture with the mashed potatoes. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

I'm not really a fan of cooked vegetables; I prefer them raw. Give me a stalk of broccoli and some vinegar and I'm set but try to feed me cooked broccoli covered in cheese and I'll have to be rude and decline. So when I put stuffed peppers on the menu this week, I was a little hesitant. But since I don't mind peppers in a stir fry or on my philly cheesesteak, I decided to try it out.

I like stuffed peppers for the same reason I like stuffed shells: there are so many different ways you can make them. These could be made with a vegetarian mixture, you could stuff them with spaghetti and meat sauce, beans and rice, the list could go on and on!

This recipes is from Allrecipes with a few revisions.

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice

1 cup water

6 green peppers (we only used 4 but we had plenty of meat/rice mixture left over)

1 tablespooon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1 16 oz jar of spaghetti sauce

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350º. Place the rice and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 20 minutes until done. Meanwhile, season the beef with garlic and onion powder and then cook the beef evenly in a skillet over medium heat until browned. Drain and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds. Put the peppers into boiling water for 1-2 minutes and then quickly put into ice water. In a glass baking dish, spread enough spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom of the dish. Arrange peppers in baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upwards.

In a bowl, mix the browned beef, cooked rice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Spoon an equal amount of the mixture into each hollowed pepper. Use the remaining spaghetti sauce to cover the stuffed peppers.

Bake for 45 minutes in oven and enjoy!

Pasta Salad

Pasta Salad is another easy recipe that I wasn't sure if I should blog or not. But then I realized that I had to go and search out a recipe for it so others might be as clueless as I was. I knew the basics: pasta, veggies, and some type of dressing. But I wasn't sure what else to add to give it a little more variety. I'm sure this is by no means an original recipe but it's what sounded good on the Fourth!

1 box of pasta

1 red pepper

1 green pepper (we used 2 since we had them on hand)

1 yellow pepper

Purple onion

Pepperoni to taste

1 cheese brick ( we used colby jack)

1 bottle of Italian Dressing

Boil pasta. Chop all veggies, pepperoni and cheese to a small size of your choosing. Throw chopped ingredients and pasta in a bowl and mix well. Next, add enough dressing to coat all and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours so the dressing can "soak" in. Add more as needed if necessary. Enjoy!