Bonus: Saucy Quinoa Bake

2 cups of your favorite pasta sauce
4 tablespoons tomato paste
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 cups cooked quinoa
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups mozzarella, divided
1 1/2-2 cups grape tomatoes, halved (for a quick way to cut them, go here)
1 large bunch fresh basil, cut into ribbons


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat tomato sauce and tomato paste over low heat in a large saucepan. Once warm, stir in heavy cream, Parmesan, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the quinoa. Fold in half of the mozzarella and half of the tomatoes, then chop 8-12 fresh basil leaves and add them in too. Once combined, spray an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish with non-stick spray and pour the entire quinoa mixture into the dish. Top with fresh mozzarella rounds or shredded mozzarella and the remaining tomatoes.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes and then turn the broiler on and broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.
Remove from the oven and top with fresh basil ribbons. Allow to sit five minutes and then serve.

Crazy Weeknight #8 Tex Mex Chicken & Rice

One of the other recipes with instant rice. The other 2 are here and here.
You may substitute cooked rice for the instant and omit the broth.

Tex Mex Chicken & Rice

1 tsp + 1 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1 can corn
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp taco seasoning (I just sprinkle chicken generously with cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper)
2 c uncooked instant white rice
2 c chicken broth
1 1/2 c salsa verde
2 tbsp fresh cilantro
1 c grated mexican cheese

sour cream, avocado, tomatoes

Add 1 tsp oil to 12" non stick skillet; heat over medium high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Drain corn. Pat dry with paper towels. Add corn to skillet in a single layer. Cook without stirring for 5 minutes or until caramelized on one side. Transfer corn to bowl.
As corn cooks, chop chicken into chunks. Combine with seasoning in a bowl. Add to skillet and cook until chicken is no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Transfer chicken to bowl with corn.
Add remaining tbsp oil to skillet. Add rice; stir until well coated with oil. Add broth and salsa; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover skillet; reduce heat to low. Simmer 5 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Meanwhile, chop cilantro.
Return corn and chicken to skillet and stir. Sprinkle with cheese, cover; let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with cilantro and other toppings as desired (sour cream, avocado, etc).

Bonus Dish....Quinoa Bake

Crazy Weeknight #7 Eggs!

Eggs sound boring, I know. But its about what you put into them. I'm assuming everyone knows how to scramble eggs, so I am just going to make some recommendations of things to add into them.

• Fry up some chopped leeks first, then add eggs with chopped prosciutto. Top with goat cheese.
• When egg is almost cooked, add about 1/2 -1 cup cooked quinoa
• Make it Mexican!
• Wilt some spinach, add eggs, top with feta
• Serve with toast spread with herb butter (just add some favourite herbs to a pat of butter)

Last but not least....Tex Mex Chicken & Rice

Crazy Weeknight #6 Pork Pineapple Fried Rice

Deliciously quick!
from America's Test Kitchen

Pork Pineapple Fried Rice

2 boneless center-cut pork chops, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Asian chili-garlic sauce
4 tsp vegetable oil
6 green onions, white parts sliced thin, green parts cut into 1/4" pieces
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c hoisin sauce
1 8 oz can of pineapple chunks, drained and chopped, 3 tbsp juice reserved
2 tsp sesame oil
2 cups cooked rice

Combine pork, 2 tbsp soy sauce and chili-garlic sauce in a bowl. Heat 2 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add pork mixture and cook, stirring occasionally until well browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl.
Add remaining oil to empty pan and cook green onion whites until just softened, about 1 minute. Add eggs and cook, stirring vigorously, until scrambled, about 1 minute. Transfer to bowl with pork.
Add hoisin sauce, pineapple chunks, reserved juice, sesame oil, remaining soy sauce and rice to empty pan and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in green onion green parts and pork and egg mixture and toss until heated through, about 1 minute.

On deck.....Eggs!

Crazy Weeknight #5 Chicken Burritos

This isn't a super quick meal, but you can easily make it ahead of time and just heat in the oven when you're ready.
Credit goes to my sister Rachel who always gets pegged as the originator of the recipe, when really its my sister Monica.

Chicken Burritos
2-3 cooked, chopped chicken breasts
1 c sour cream
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 1/2 c grated cheese
1/2 c each chopped green and red pepper
1/2 c chopped celery
1/2 c chopped green onions
1 can corn, drained
10 fajita wraps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together and divide among wraps. Roll up and place in 9x13 pan. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes until heated through.

Tomorrow's recipe....Pork Pineapple Fried Rice

Crazy Weeknight #4 Mish Mash "Paella"

This is from a Chatelaine magazine from a few years back. I omitted the olives because they didn't taste right in this dish (well, in my humble opinion). If you want to, add some sliced ones to the skillet with the tomato.

Mish Mash "Paella"

1/2 pkg of frozen, uncooked shrimp (get the peeled kind to make your life easier)

2 hot Italian or chorizo sausages

1 onion

1 tomato, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp hot chili flakes (or 1 jalapeno finely chopped if you so desire)

1 1/2 tsp oregano

1 tsp paprika

1 1/4 c chicken broth (approx 10 oz)

1 cup couscous

1/4 c chopped fresh parsley

Place shrimp in a colander and rinse under cold water until thawed. Pat dry with a paper towel. Thickly slice sausage. Oil a large saucepan and set over medium heat. Add sausage to pan and stir often until lightly browned (about 4-5 minutes). Coarsely chop onion and add to sausages. Stir frequently until onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes.

While the onion and sausages are cooking, chop the tomato, garlic and jalapeno (if using). Add to pan along with the oregano and paprika. Stir occasionally until tomato starts to break down—about 2 minutes. Add broth and shrimp, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil. As soon as shrimp turns pink, stir in couscous. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and sprinkle with parsley.

Up next....Chicken Burritos

Crazy Weeknight #3... BIG Sandwich

One of my favourites.

BIG Sandwich
french loaf
your favourite deli meat
your favourite sliced cheese (I like jalapeno havarti)

Preheat oven (or BBQ) to 350.
Slice french loaf in half lengthwise. Pile on meat and cheese. Wrap in foil. Place in oven for 15 minutes until cheese is melted (you can also pop this on the BBQ). If desired, open up sandwich and add tomatoes, cucumbers, roasted red peppers, etc after it is heated. Slice into thick slices. Serve with a salad.

My sister puts a twist on hers by making one half of the sandwich a garlic bread. Spread with butter, top with seasonings and add the cheese. Broil till bubbly and golden, pop it on the other half of the sandwich and you're done.

Tomorrow's recipe....Mish Mash "Paella"

Crazy Weeknight #2 -- Two Cheeser Spinach Pizza

This is by far one of the quickest pizza's to make, with minimal clean-up. Its not a typo---there is no sauce on this pizza.

Two Cheeser Spinach Pizza
1 flatbread/pizza crust
1 garlic clove, minced
grated havarti cheese
grated mozzarella or marble cheese
baby spinach
cooked, chopped chicken breast
roasted red peppers

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spread minced garlic over pizza crust. Top with havarti cheese.
Wash and roughly chop spinach to desired size. Add on top of havarti cheese. Pile on the peppers and cooked chicken. Top with mozzarella.
Bake for 10 minutes or until crust is a bit golden and cheese is melted.

Coming up tomorrow....BIG Sandwich

Eight Crrraaaazy Weeknights

For the past 8 weeknights, my son has had swimming lessons which land us home at 5:30pm. My challenge has to been to cook and eat supper, and get the kids in bed all by 7pm. I had to do some very focused meal planning to accomplish this feat. I understand that for a lot of you, this is your reality every day. My hat goes off to you. I am very excited that tomorrow is the last class...and we're picking up a pizza to celebrate.

Each day I will post the recipes. I apologize for the lack of pictures---I was in such a hurry to eat that the camera didn't make its way near the dinner table.

Tonight I bring you......
Chicken & Rice Casserole
(this is a version of a mexican chicken and rice that I posted here)

No creamy soups or onion soup mix in this one! There are only a handful of recipes with instant rice that I will make. This is one of them.

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp minced fresh thyme
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 c heavy cream
1 cup instant rice
2 c frozen pea-carrot medley, thawed
salt and pepper
2 c shredded cooked chicken
20 ritz crackers, crushed to coarse crumbs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat oil in a 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 sec. Add broth and cream and bring to a simmer.
Stir in rice and pea-carrot medley. Season with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into 8" baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes
Stir in chicken. Sprinkle cheddar evenly over top and top with cracker crumbs. Continue to bake until edges are bubbling and crumbs are toasted, about 5 minutes.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's recipe of Two-Cheeser Spinach Pizza