Spaghetti with Caramelized Onions and Spinach

 

This is your go-to recipe when you really don’t feel like cooking.  It’s ridiculously easy, and pretty tasty, especially for the minimal effort you put in.

Spaghetti with Caramelized Onions and Spinach, adapted from Dinner A Love Story

Ingredients:

• spaghetti (1 16 oz. package)
• olive oil
• 2 large onions
• a couple large handfuls or 1 bag spinach (or you can use frozen)
• balsamic vinegar
• parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1) Slice the onions.  See how great this recipe is already?  I love when I can slice, rather than chop, onions.

2) Add olive oil to skillet and add the onions.  Cook on low-ish heat, stirring from time to time, for about 30 minutes, until the onions turn soft and brown.  When the onions finish cooking, add a splash of balsamic vinegar and stir through.

3) While the onions are cooking, boil the water for the pasta and cook, trying to time it so the pasta and onions are done at the same time.

4) In the last minute of cooking the pasta, add the spinach.  As soon as it’s wilted, drain the pasta and spinach and add to the onions.  Add a little olive oil to moisten and stir all together.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

5) Serve, and add parmesan cheese to individual servings.

Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

Sometimes you need a slow cooker recipe.  Like last week, when I had to get my daughter to a rehearsal by 7:00, but had to work and had no time to cook dinner.  How nice to throw the ingredients into the slow cooker in the morning and have dinner ready when I got home from work.

Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup, adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. black beans (real, actual beans, not canned)
• 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes (I used tomatoes with diced chiles)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1 t. allspice (I didn’t have any, so I used 1/4 t. cloves)
• 1 T. cumin
• 1 t. chipotle chile powder (I’m sure you can use regular chile powder if that’s what you have on hand)
• salt
• 1 orange (I used about 1/3 to 1/2 c. orange juice)
• 1 lime
• 4 c. vegetable or chicken broth
• lemon (optional)

Instructions:

1) The night before, soak the black beans.  Sorry.  It requires forethought and it’s an extra step, but only takes a few seconds.  Put them in a big bowl, cover them with water, and let them sit overnight.

2) Drain beans and put into slow cooker.  Chop onion, pepper, and garlic and add to slow cooker.  Add all other ingredients except the lemon and stir.

3) Cook on low heat for 8-10 hours.

4) When finished cooking, blend with an immersion blender to desired consistency.  I like mine mostly smooth, but with a few chunks.  If needed, add a little more liquid.  (Mine always needs more liquid, but my slow cooker does not seal well.)

5) Add a squeeze of lemon if you’d like.  Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.  Also, my daughter added grated cheese to hers and loved it.

 

A Month of Menu Planning

Even the Good Enough Gourmet gets sick of menu planning.  Every Sunday morning, I spend way too much time going through recipes trying to figure out what to make for the week.  Enough, I thought last weekend.  I’ll just plan out a month of menus and then I can go on auto-pilot for a few weeks.  So I went through my tried and true recipes, and picked out my favorite fish, meat, pasta, chicken, and vegetarian recipes.  I have 3-5 in each category, and each week, I’ll pick 5 recipes until I’ve cooked everything.  Here was week 1:

• Pomegranate Molasses Salmon, roasted broccoli and cauliflower
• Sausage with Mustardy Potatoes
• Pasta with Caramelized Onions, salad
• Black Bean Soup, homemade tortilla chips

I only picked 4 recipes for this week because we had a few evening obligations.  All recipes have or will be posted on Good Enough Gourmet, and I’ll post future weeks’ menus to give you ideas.

I’m loving auto-pilot so far!

 

Lamb Sliders

As you can tell, I adapt my recipes from other food blogs.  I try to be scrupulous about linking to the original recipes to give credit where it’s due.  In this case, you might want to read the original post because it’s pretty funny.

These lamb sliders have an interesting flavor, with the rosemary and lemon zest.  Definitely worth a try.  Plus, it falls into the “meatball fun food” category.  As I’ve said before, you need several meatball recipes in your repertoire.

Lamb Sliders, adapted from Dinner Was Delicious

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground lamb
• 1 shallot
• 1 lemon (zest and juice)
• 1 t. fresh rosemary
• 1 T. soy sauce
• salt and pepper
• Side dish: potatoes

Instructions:

1) Make your side dish, because the lamb sliders will go fast.  I made roasted potatoes.  Preheat oven to 475.  Cut the potatoes into pieces, toss with olive oil, salt, and maybe some smoked paprika or whatever sounds good to you.  Put on a foil lined pan and roast.  It will take about 30 minutes? More or less?  Just check them and take them out when a fork goes in easily and they’re nice and brown.

2) Chop shallot.  (I didn’t have a shallot, so I used 1/8 if a regular onion.)  Zest lemon.  Chop rosemary.  Combine all ingredients.  Don’t overmix, but make sure all ingredients are well incorporated into the lamb.

3) Form into slider-sized patties (or meatballs or regular burgers, whatever you want).

4)  Heat pan and add oil.  I use grapeseed oil because of the high flash point – I like my burgers very brown.  Add sliders and cook for a few minutes on each side, depending on how large your patties are and how well-done you like them.

Paprika Chicken

Please forgive the ridiculousness of this picture, but I forgot to take a picture until halfway through dinner.  At least you can see how juicy this chicken was.

You must add this chicken to your repertoire.  It is so easy, so fast, and so tasty.  It’s also versatile — I’ve made it with chicken thighs, breasts, smoked and regular paprika.  All are good.  Here’s my favorite way to make it.

Paprika Chicken, adapted from The Shiksa in the Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 8 boneless chicken thighs (or use breasts)
• 2 T. smoked paprika (or use regular, but smoked is amazing)
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 3/4 t. salt
• 3 T. olive oil
• Side dish: broccoli

Instructions:

1) Preheat broiler.

2) I made roasted broccoli as a side dish.  If you’re making this, start it now.  Cut the broccoli into florets, toss with olive oil and a little salt and maybe some lemon pepper if you have some on  hand.  Put into a pyrex or a foil lined pan and put into the oven.  I can’t give you exact timing but about 20 minutes should be enough.  (Note: I usually roast broccoli at a slightly lower temperature, but I needed the oven temperature at “broil” for the chicken and it was fine.)

3) Combine the olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, and salt.  I combine it in the corner of the baking dish and then roll the chicken around in it until it’s fully coated (that’s the Good Enough way) but you could also combine in a small bowl and brush the mixture onto the chicken pieces.

4) Broil the chicken for 7 minutes on each side.

How easy was that?

Curried Carrot Soup

 

Lots of flavor in this soup.  Red lentils thicken it – they pop when they cook and provide texture.  Sounds weird, I know, but it’s good – really.

These proportions make a big pot of soup.  But won’t you be happy at lunchtime tomorrow?

Curried Carrot Soup, adapted from Naturally Ella

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1/2 of an onion
• chives or green onions
• 8 carrots
• 1 c. red lentils
• 3 t. curry powder
• 2 t. fresh grated ginger
• 1/2 t. chile powder
• salt
• 6 c. veggie or chicken broth
• 1 c. coconut milk

Instructions:

First, my idiosyncracies – I loathe grating fresh ginger so I buy grated ginger in a jar.  I get it at Whole Foods because some brands have sugar added.  Next, I made this with chicken broth because I buy it in bulk at Costco so it’s always on hand.  Finally, I admit that I added the whole can of coconut milk.  That definitely exceeds what the recipe called for, but it was good.  So if you’re wondering what you’re going to do with half a can of coconut milk and your hand slips and the whole can “accidentally” ends up in the soup, oh well.  A little creamier soup never hurt anyone.

1) Peel and slice carrots.  Chop onion.

2) Heat a little olive oil in a stock pan and add carrots and onions.  Cook for a few minutes until the vegetables soften.

3) Add the chives or green onions, lentils, curry powder, ginger, chile powder, and a little salt and stir for a minute or so.

4) Add broth, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes.

5) Puree with an immersion blender (or in the blender).

6) Add coconut milk and salt to taste.

Thighs and Fries

Not the most attractive picture but I love this dinner.  The blog, Dinner A Love Story cleverly named it Thighs and Fries, although as you can see, I usually make it with whole legs.  Bone-in thighs can be hard to find since we all love our boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Serve something green with this if you must, but do try it.

Thighs and Fries, adapted from Dinner, A Love Story

Ingredients:

• Fries:
• 3 russet potatoes
• 2 t. dried oregano
• 2 T. parmesan cheese
• 1 t. garlic salt (I sometimes use Penzey’s Sandwich Sprinkle)
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 t. water (according to the original recipe, the water helps to make the fries crisp and fluffy)
• Chicken:
• 6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs or 3 whole legs, separated
• salt and pepper
• vegetable or grapeseed oil (grapeseed oil is good for high heat – this picture was taken before I discovered grapeseed oil.  Last time I made this dish – with grapeseed oil – the chicken was browner.)

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 475.

2) Cut your potatoes into wedges.  I cut the potato into quarters, lengthwise, and cut each quarter into 3 wedges, so I get 12 wedges from 3 potatoes.

3) Combine all other ingredients for potatoes in a bowl.  Add the potatoes and toss, coating the potatoes well.

4) Put the wedges on a foil-lined pan (I use non-stick foil, which is one of my favorite things in the world.)  I put the wedges skin-side down, point-side up, but I don’t know that it matters that much.

5) Bake until brown, about 40 minutes or so.  (the original recipe says 25 minutes, but my fries are never close to done in 25 minutes.)  Just keep them in until they are brown and a little crispy.  I usually take them out the same time I’m taking out the chicken.

6) When the fries are in the oven, start the chicken.  Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.

7) Heat an oven-proof skillet until it’s very hot.  Add a little oil, and then add the chicken, skin-side down.  Cook on high heat for 2 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium high and cook for 12 minutes, moving the chicken pieces around a little from time to time to make sure they are not sticking to the pan.

8) Transfer skillet to the oven and cook for 13 minutes.  Flip the chicken pieces and cook 5 more minutes, until skin gets crispy.

Enjoy.