The first was "Souped-up Chicken Stroganoff," basically just a nice, easy, doctored-up-canned-soup sort of dinner.
Souped-up Chicken Stroganoff, adapted from Cheap. Fast. Good! by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross
1 lb. fettuccine
2 cups cooked chicken, cut in bite-size chunks
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bag (16 oz) frozen broccoli spears or pieces (I used spears)
2 Tbsp. dry sherry, Marsala, Madeira, or port wine (I used port because my husband drank the cooking sherry!)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1-2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup sour cream (I used reduced-fat)
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Boil water in a large pot and cook fettuccine according to package directions. You can add the frozen broccoli to the pasta after 7 minutes of cooking as per the original recipe and then continue cooking until the fettuccine is done (about 6 minutes). However, I found that the fettuccine didn't cook well that way, so I suggest cooking the broccoli separately, perhaps in the microwave.
Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet on medium heat. Add the onions. When they begin to soften, stir in the mushrooms and garlic. When all the veggies are soft, add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir in the mushroom soup and Worcestershire sauce, then add the chicken and cook until the mixture is well heated. Stir in the sour cream. If the sour cream is reduced fat, do not let the mixture boil after it is added. Season to taste with salt and a LOT of black pepper. (Trust me on this.)
Drain the pasta and broccoli. Place pasta on each plate, arrange broccoli spears on the pasta, then top it all with chicken and sauce. Alternatively, if the broccoli is in pieces, just mix it in with the chicken and sauce.
Serves 4. (I hate when a recipe says 4 servings and it only means 4 servings for not very hungry people or 4 servings if something else is on the menu. This will serve 4 hungry people. I have a lot left in my fridge.)
If you want to try this one, I think wide egg noodles would work better than the fettuccine. Also, I would just throw it all together and not have to worry about the noodles sticking together. I think the amount of broccoli is a little high; a 10 oz box should be fine. The amount of chicken and everything else is flexible, of course.
Last night, I made "Fisherman's Seafood Creole" from the same book. It doesn't have the depth of flavor of Emeril's Shrimp Creole, which is pure heaven - I made it myself for my birthday this year - but it doesn't have the stick of butter either. (I don't think that's a coincidence.) It would also be better with shrimp, but my husband is allergic.
Fisherman's Seafood Creole, adapted from Cheap. Fast. Good!
1 1/3 cups rice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped (I used red, because I had it)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp finely chopped cooked bacon
1 bay leaf
1-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 (14 oz) can stewed tomatoes (I used diced + a little sugar)
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
12 oz firm fish fillets, boned and skinned
1 cup frozen sliced okra (optional; I used more like 2 cups because it was what was left in a bag in the freezer)
Tabasco sauce to taste
Bring 2 2/3 cups lightly salted water to a boil; stir in rice, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 20 minutes.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and green pepper, and cook until the onions are translucent and the veggies are beginning to soften. Stir in garlic, bacon, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper, then tomatoes and tomato sauce. Heat to a boil.
Cut the fish (I used frozen individually-wrapped tilapia fillets from BJ's) into chunks. Add the fish (and okra, if using) to the skillet, cover it, and cook about 4 minutes, or until the fish is nearly opaque. Season with Tabasco to taste, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the rice is done.
Spoon rice into large shallow bowls and top with the seafood mixture. Those who like more heat can add Tabasco at the table.
Serves 4, but not if they really like it and are hungry. You'll have to give them a big dessert. :-) See, isn't that more helpful? Actually, I would suggest adding more fish; the amount fairly skimpy as written.
As I said, I thought both these meals fit the bill of cheap (even the one with fish was probably less than $10 total), fast (neither took more than half an hour) and good. As for my family, maybe I just have to go back to expensive, slow, and only so-so.
1 lb. fettuccine
2 cups cooked chicken, cut in bite-size chunks
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bag (16 oz) frozen broccoli spears or pieces (I used spears)
2 Tbsp. dry sherry, Marsala, Madeira, or port wine (I used port because my husband drank the cooking sherry!)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1-2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup sour cream (I used reduced-fat)
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Boil water in a large pot and cook fettuccine according to package directions. You can add the frozen broccoli to the pasta after 7 minutes of cooking as per the original recipe and then continue cooking until the fettuccine is done (about 6 minutes). However, I found that the fettuccine didn't cook well that way, so I suggest cooking the broccoli separately, perhaps in the microwave.
Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet on medium heat. Add the onions. When they begin to soften, stir in the mushrooms and garlic. When all the veggies are soft, add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir in the mushroom soup and Worcestershire sauce, then add the chicken and cook until the mixture is well heated. Stir in the sour cream. If the sour cream is reduced fat, do not let the mixture boil after it is added. Season to taste with salt and a LOT of black pepper. (Trust me on this.)
Drain the pasta and broccoli. Place pasta on each plate, arrange broccoli spears on the pasta, then top it all with chicken and sauce. Alternatively, if the broccoli is in pieces, just mix it in with the chicken and sauce.
Serves 4. (I hate when a recipe says 4 servings and it only means 4 servings for not very hungry people or 4 servings if something else is on the menu. This will serve 4 hungry people. I have a lot left in my fridge.)
If you want to try this one, I think wide egg noodles would work better than the fettuccine. Also, I would just throw it all together and not have to worry about the noodles sticking together. I think the amount of broccoli is a little high; a 10 oz box should be fine. The amount of chicken and everything else is flexible, of course.
Last night, I made "Fisherman's Seafood Creole" from the same book. It doesn't have the depth of flavor of Emeril's Shrimp Creole, which is pure heaven - I made it myself for my birthday this year - but it doesn't have the stick of butter either. (I don't think that's a coincidence.) It would also be better with shrimp, but my husband is allergic.
Fisherman's Seafood Creole, adapted from Cheap. Fast. Good!
1 1/3 cups rice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped (I used red, because I had it)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp finely chopped cooked bacon
1 bay leaf
1-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 (14 oz) can stewed tomatoes (I used diced + a little sugar)
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
12 oz firm fish fillets, boned and skinned
1 cup frozen sliced okra (optional; I used more like 2 cups because it was what was left in a bag in the freezer)
Tabasco sauce to taste
Bring 2 2/3 cups lightly salted water to a boil; stir in rice, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 20 minutes.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and green pepper, and cook until the onions are translucent and the veggies are beginning to soften. Stir in garlic, bacon, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper, then tomatoes and tomato sauce. Heat to a boil.
Cut the fish (I used frozen individually-wrapped tilapia fillets from BJ's) into chunks. Add the fish (and okra, if using) to the skillet, cover it, and cook about 4 minutes, or until the fish is nearly opaque. Season with Tabasco to taste, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the rice is done.
Spoon rice into large shallow bowls and top with the seafood mixture. Those who like more heat can add Tabasco at the table.
Serves 4, but not if they really like it and are hungry. You'll have to give them a big dessert. :-) See, isn't that more helpful? Actually, I would suggest adding more fish; the amount fairly skimpy as written.
As I said, I thought both these meals fit the bill of cheap (even the one with fish was probably less than $10 total), fast (neither took more than half an hour) and good. As for my family, maybe I just have to go back to expensive, slow, and only so-so.
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