Friday Family Food Faves

I LOVE to eat and thankfully I LOVE to cook. I spend a lot of time each week planning my menus and looking for healthy (not always!) fresh and fast meals. And of course, now I'm trying to find foods that all 4 of us can eat. Amazingly, Bryce and Drew like a lot of different types of food and prefer lots of flavor, especially garlic and onions!

I thought it would be fun to pick a few recipes that I've cooked successfully each week and post them for you to try with your family. In return, I would love for you to post, in the comment section, one of your family faves. This way, all of us can benefit by adding new recipes to our repertoire. If you're anything like me, you can never have enough GOOD recipes!

White Chicken Chili

1 medium onion - finely chopped
3 tablespoons EVOO (extra virgin olive oil - for those that don't watch Rachael Ray!)
3 tablespoons flour
1 4ounce can chopped, green chilies, drained
1 teaspoon cumin
2 15oz cans Great Northern Beans (rinsed and drained)
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 1/2 cups finely chopped chicken breasts (cooked)

In a large skillet cook onion in EVOO for 4 min. Add chilies, flour & cumin and cook for 2 min. Add beans and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 min until thickened. If you want in thinner add more broth or water.

Servings: makes about 4 servings. It's good plain or you can garnish with grated cheese, sour cream, salsa, chips, etc.

Farfalle with Turkey Sausage, Peas and Mushrooms
recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis (tweaked a litte bit)

1/2 cup EVOO
1 pound ground turkey sausage (not Italian sausage, but breakfast type sausage)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 ounces cremini (I use button) mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 10 package frozen peas
1 pound dried farfalle (bow tie) pasta
1/2 cup freshly grated Grano Padano cheese (I use parmesan)

In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook until al dente - about 8 min.

In a large saute pan over high heat, add 2 tablespoons EVOO. Add turkey, season with salt and pepper and saute breaking any large lumps until golden brown. Remove meat from pan and set aside. Add 2 tablespoons EVOO and heat again. Add chopped mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated - about 5 min. Add the peas and saute for 4 min. Return the meat to the pan and cook another 3 min. Remove from heat and set aside. Drain cooked pasta and return to the pan. Add the meat mixture. Combined and gently cook adding more EVOO if necessary. Top with grated cheese.

Sesame Glazed Snap Peas

2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 cups snap peas (fresh or frozen)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add snap peas, soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of water and cook 3-5 min. until peas are tender and water evaporates. Stir in sesame seeds (optional) and cook 1 min until seeds are golden. Remove from heat and stir in salt and pepper.

This is also tastey with fresh or frozen whole green beans. I buy a huge bag from Sam's because it's my boys' favorite veggie!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potatos (however many you want)
EVOO
salt

Peel potatoes and cut into wedges - about 1/2 inch. Place potatoes onto a cookie sheet or baking pan and drizzle with EVOO. Toss with your fingers to coat each wedge. Sprinkle with salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook potatoes until soft but a little crunchy on the corners. About 15 min.

We like to make these with russet or yukon gold potatoes too, but don't peel the skin! Bake for about 25-30 min.