Cafe Rio - Style Lime Rice

This recipe comes from my MIL's 2008 neighborhood recipe book. It was submitted by Carol C* I honestly have never been to Cafe Rio- I know I've heard it's the best. So I don't know how to compare it, but it was really good. Aaron doesn't care for cilantro, but I put a little bit of fresh parsley in there for color. I also halved the recipe, and there was tiny bit left over.

2 c. long grain rice
2 cans (approx 4 c.) chicken broth
1 cube butter
1 c. chopped celery
1 onion, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
zest and juice of 2 limes

Saute the celery and onion in the butter. Add the rice and stir until the rice is coated with butter. Add the broth, lime zest, juice and cilantro. bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer; cover and cook for 20 minutes or until rice is done.

Chocolate Mint Brownies

This was for St. Patrick's Day. From the Betty Crocker newsletter. Pretty straightforward, and delicious. I'm sure any brownie mix would be fine, but I happened to have a supreme mix.

Chocolate Mint Brownies

Brownie layer
1 box Betty Crocker Original Supreme Brownie mix (with chocolate syrup pouch) water, oil and eggs, as instructed on box.

Filling
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
1/4 c. whipping cream
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 tsp mint extract
4 drops green food coloring

Topping
1/2 c. whipping cream
1 (12 oz) pkg semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. butter (do NOT use margarine)


Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Grease bottom only of a 9 x 13-inch pan with shortening or pan spray. Make and bake brownie mix according package directions for 9 x 13 pan, using eggs, oil and water. Cool completely - about 1 hour.
2. In a large bowl, beat ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread over cooled brownies. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until set.
3. Meanwhile in a 2 - quart nonstick saucepan heat topping ingredients, over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth. cool about 10 minutes or until lukewarm.
4. Pour topping over filling; spread to cover. Refrigerate uncovered about 2 hours or until set. Before cutting into bars let stand about 10 minutes at room temperature. For bars cut into 8 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.
   

Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

made this without changing anything - almost. I didn't have pastina, so I used small shell pasta and it wan't quite 1 cup so I used some egg noodles too. Pretty much everything else is the same. I found it on the Food Network website - a recipe from Giada de Laurentiis. It was fabulous and really easy.

Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

Ingredients

• 1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
• 1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Slow cooker Root Beer Barbecue Beef

Aaron forwarded this recipe to me from the Betty Crocker Meals Made Easy recipe collection. I had an almost 3 lb roast, so I decreased the other ingredients by the same amount. I wish I had kept them the same. The sauce was really good, but because it wasn't enough to cover the roast it wasn't as easy to shred, it was a little tougher than I would like it. It makes a lot. I love left overs!

Slow cooker Root Beer Barbecue Beef

1 boneless beef rump roast (about 4 lbs)
2 cups barbecue sauce
1 cup root beer
16 sandwich buns, split

1. In a 3 1/2 to 4 qt slow cooker, place beef. In a 4 cup measuring cup or bowl mix 1 1/2 cups of the barbecue sauce and the root beer; pour over beef.
2. Cover. Cook on low heat setting for 10-12 hours.
3. About 20 minutes before serving, remove beef from slow cooker; place on large plate. Pour juices from slow cooker into 12-inch skillet. Cook over medium-high heat about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until juices are thickened and reduced to about 3 cups. Meanwhile, shred beef with 2 forks; return to slow cooker
   
4. Stir remaining 1/2 cup barbecue sauce into reduced juices in skillet; pour over shredded beef in slow cooker. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Spoon about 1/2 cup beef mixture into each bun.

Beef Pasta Skillet

This was a pretty good recipe. Great for nights when you need something quick. I added a fresh roma tomato chopped and an extra cup of pasta to make it go further.
Beef Pasta Skillet

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Tomato Soup (Regular or 25% Less Sodium)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 cups cooked corkscrew-shaped pasta or elbow pasta

1. Cook beef and onion in skillet until browned. Pour off fat.
2. Add soup, water, Worcestershire, cheese and pasta and heat through.

Chicken Parmesan

I found this recipe in my MIL's 2008 neighborhood recipe book. It was submitted by Karen D*. This is a very simple recipe, and also really good. I used just two chicken breasts cut in half (lengthwise) and then two tenderloins. I didn't need to change the amount of breading. I didn't have Italian seasoned bread crumbs, so I just added Italian seasoning to the bread crumb mixture.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/8 tsp. paprika

Combine Parmesan, bread crumbs and paprika in a plastic bag. Add chicken. Seal bag and shake until chicken is well coasted. Put chicken in a baking pan. Bake at 400 F until done, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Oven Roasted cauliflower

I got this recipe with my Fred Meyer ad in my email this week. I thought it was really good. I didn't have fresh rosemary, so dried had to do. I never have shallots, so I diced some onion. I also used regular table salt and black pepper. I did have fresh parsley though.
Oven Roasted Cauliflower

• 1 large cauliflower, about 2 pounds, cut into 1 1/2" florets
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• fresh cracked white pepper, to taste
• 2 teaspoons shallots, minced
• fresh parsley, chopped

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine all of the ingredients except the shallots and parsley. Toss to mix well and place in a roasting pan. Roast until cauliflower is tender, turning once with a metal spatula, about 35 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, mix in shallots.
• To serve, sprinkle with parsley.

Baked Fettucheesy

I made this a few weeks ago, but never posted it. It also called for Romano cheese, but I didn't have any. I also didn't have any heavy cream, but I figured whole milk would work. I thought it tasted great! There were not many leftovers.

Baked Fettucheesy

• 1 (16 ounce) package dry fettuccine pasta
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
  
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium casserole dish.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter, and cook the onion until tender. Stir in the fettuccine, heavy cream, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup Romano cheese, salt and pepper. Transfer to the prepared dish. In a bowl, mix the remaining Parmesan, remaining Romano, and mozzarella. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the fettuccine mixture.
4. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly and golden brow.

pork potato meatballs

I made this last week sometime. They were pretty good, but not the best meatballs. I think I put too much mustard in them. I also added garlic and a few spices to them, mostly Italian seasoning. The chicken broth was pretty much soaked up by the meatballs, so adding the flour and water at the end didn't create a sauce so much as a coating.

pork potato meatballs

• 1 cup finely shredded peeled potato
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 1/3 cups water, divided
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1. In a bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Crumble pork over mixture and sprinkle with bread crumbs; mix gently. Shape into 1-in. balls. In a large skillet, brown meatballs in batches over medium heat; drain. Remove and keep warm.
2. Add 1 cup water and bouillon to skillet; stir until bouillon is dissolved. Return meatballs to the pan; cover and cook for 20 minutes or until no longer pink. Combine flour and remaining water until smooth; gradually add to skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.