Bacon, Broccoli and Tomato Pasta Salad & Grilled Salsa Chicken

I had seen both of these recipes posted on $5 Dollar Dinners. The first is Bacon, Broccoli and Tomato Pasta Salad and the second is Grilled Salsa Chicken. We were celebrating our daughter in-laws birthday last night so we had 8 people gather around the "Honeymoon" table. This gave me the perfect opportunity to try these 2 new recipes out on a crowd! Happy Birthday Ariel!

Ingredients for Bacon, Broccoli and Tomato Pasta Salad

• 2 cups elbows or penne pasta noodles
• 6 strips of bacon or turkey bacon, I bumped it up to 8
• 2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes drained, I used Muir Glen Fire Roasted
• About 1/2 cup homemade ranch dressing or your favorite store bought
• Fresh fruit , we had apple slices.

1. Cook the pasta as directed on the box. Drain and rinse with cool water.

2. Cook the bacon in a skillet or in the microwave on paper towels. Let cool, then crumble.

3. Steam the broccoli florets for just 2 or 3 minutes, in a stovetop steamer or in the microwaveable bowl with 1/2 cup of water, covered with plastic wrap.

4. Place the cooked and cooled pasta in a large mixing bowl and toss with the crumbled bacon, broccoli florets, diced tomatoes and homemade ranch dressing. Toss. Toss. Toss.

5. Serve BBT Pasta Salad with fresh fruit.

This Salad was very good and we will make it again. I like that I could prepare this in the morning, put it in the refridgerator, and pull it out at dinner time. I think in summer this salad is hefty enough to be dinner itself when it's hot and we don't want to cook or eat anything hot.

Grilled Salsa Chicken

• Chicken leg quarters, I cut these into thighs and drumsticks.
• 1 cup salsa - I doubled this
• 1 teaspoon chili powder - I doubled this
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin - I doubled this
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder - I doubled this
• 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper (I skipped the salt) - I doubled this

1. Toss the garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

2. Separate the skin from the thigh. Do not remove but rather lift it to create a pocket for the spices and salsa.

3. Spoon in some seasonings.

4. Spoon in some salsa. Repeat for all the chicken pieces that you’ll be grilling.

5. Sprinkle any remaining seasonings on top of the chicken thighs.

6. Spread any remaining salsa into the bottom of a shallow dish or baking dish and let the chicken sit on top of the salsa, so the underside of the chicken marinates and takes on a bit of the salsa flavor. Let sit for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

7. Grill until cooked through.

This was a really delicious dinner to pull together for a crowd. I liked cooking with something other than BBQ sauce, it made for a nice change. I was skeptical as to whether the boys would eat the spicy chicken. They devoured it! We give these recipes a solid 4 spoons.

If you haven't checked out the $5 Dollar Dinner site I highly recommend it. Erin and her contributing cooks are mothers on a budget just as we are and the recipes are tried and true.

If you liked to see how I was able to purchase this large dinner for 8 people for just $12.50, you can pop over to Money Saving Maine-iac and check it out!

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This Weeks Featured blogger is: My Blessed Life: Stuffed BBQ Potatoes- the kid friendly version.

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Portobella Mushroom Sandwich

Today's recipe is a yummy one courtesy of Hungry Girl.  If you don't know who Hungry Girl is I suggest you run, not walk, over to her site and sign up for their newsletter (after you finish reading my post of course).  You will get lots of delicious, nutritious recipes delivered right to your inbox as well as some great coupons and other helpful advice. 

Now I am not a big mushroom fan, never have been.  However, in my quest of losing weight I became a bit more adventurous in the foods that I tried.  Portobella mushrooms are thick, absorb flavor well and you can truly convince yourself that you aren't biting into a mushroom.  Seriously, this sandwich will have you forget.  This recipe is for the stove top but now with the nicer weather on the horizon, and the grill making a more frequent appearance, I might try moving this recipe outdoors!

My husband rated this recipe a 10 (note that we only use a 5 spoon scale).  I rated it a 4 1/2 (only because slightly somewhere in the back of my brain I did remember it was a mushroom) and my eldest son even asked for seconds. 


from Life in the BAT Cave

Photo Credit: Hungry Girl

Please note: This recipe is for 1 sandwich, so double, triple, quadruple, etc. appropriately for your crowd.

Ingredients:

1 large portobella mushroom, stem removed

1 tsp. olive oil

1/8 tsp. salt (or more to taste)

2 dashes ground thyme (or more to taste)

1 Tbsp. fat-free mayonnaise

Dash cayenne pepper (or more to taste)

1 stick light string cheese

1 Arnold Select Sandwich Thins OR Pepperidge Farm Deli Flats roll

1 tsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread

2 dashes garlic powder

1 thick slice red onion, all rings intact

1 large slice tomato

1/2 cup shredded lettuce

Directions:

1.  Coat both sides of the mushroom with oil and sprinkle with salt and thyme.  Gently rub the seasonings into the mushroom and set aside.

2.  Season mayo to taste with cayenne pepper.  Mix well and set aside. 

3.  Pull Sting cheese into pieces and set aside as well.

4.  Split apart your roll and spread the inside with butter.  Sprinkle with garlic powder.

5.  Bring a large skillet or grill pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat.  Place roll halves in the pan with the buttered sides down.  Once warm and toasty, remove and plate with the buttered sides up.

6.  Place mushroom in the skillet/pan, rounded side up, along with the onion, side by side.  Cook for 5 minutes, then flip both mushroom and onions.

7.  Top mushroom evenly with cheese, cook for another 5 minutes or until cheese and veggies have softened. 

8.  Pace mushroom on the bottom half of the roll.  Top with onion, tomato and lettuce.  Spread the buttered side of the rolls top half with mayo then place on sandwich.

9.  ENJOY!  mmmm....yummy!

Steak Bites

These past two weeks have been nonstop and exhausting for me, so when I was planning something to make for you, I immediately started daydreaming about comfort food.  Comfortttt Foooooddd, yummmm! 

Pioneer Woman's recipe is pretty genius in its simplicity.  How can you go wrong with steak cooked in butter and salt and pepper?  From the time you start heating up the pan til the time you pour the Steak Bites onto a plate to serve is less than 10 minutes.  That's a whoppingly quick recipe!

I served the Steak Bites with sauteed veggies, my mom's macaroni salad, and Teresa's sweet potato biscuits (topped with melted butter and cinnamon sugar).  Bo rated the Steak Bites a definite 5 Spoons, and was really happy when I said that I'd be making them again :)

Enjoy!

Pioneer Woman's Steak Bites

recipe here, serves 2

1 lb Sirloin Steak OR Pre-cut Beef Tips

Kosher Salt To Taste
Fresh Ground Black Pepper To Taste
2 Tbsp Butter

Trim off any excess fat. Next, cut strips less than 1-inch wide. Rotate the meat and cut into small bite-sized pieces. If you see any more large chunks of fat, gristle or long silvery membrane, cut them off.

Sprinkle generously with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss the meat around a bit to thoroughly coat with the seasonings.

Next, turn on your ventilation fan overhead. Heat the skillet over medium high to high heat. As the pan heats, add about 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet. Allow the butter to melt, then brown, before you add the meat.

Place the meat in the pan in a single layer. It should sizzle loudly when it hits the pan – if it doesn’t, the pan isn’t hot enough. Don’t stir or disrupt the meat for 30-45 seconds. You want it to sizzle and brown on one side. Scoop as many steak bites as you can with your spatula and flip them over. Repeat until all the meat is turned. Cook for an additional 30 to 45 seconds—just long enough to sear the outside of the meat but NOT cook the inside.

Remove the meat to a clean plate. Add a little more butter to the pan and repeat the cooking process with the next batch just as before. Lastly, when all the meat is nicely browned and removed to the plate, pour all that browned/blackened butter all over the meat. And enjoy!

Ingredient lineup:

When the butter first melts, it's clear.

Then, as it cooks, it browns.

Flip them over to brown the other side, but don't let them get too brown.

They'll continue cooking once you remove them from the pan.

We'll definitely be having Steak Bites for dinner again!