Cheap, quick Chicken Parm

Hmmm, it's been quite a while, hasn't it? Anyway, Chicken Parm is what brings us here today; a single-serving, cheap, and easy version of this great dish.
I'll edit it to make it more presentable later (if I remember).

1 breaded, frozen chicken patty

1/4 cup canned, diced tomatoes
1/8 cup tomato paste
1/8 cup mushrooms (canned or fresh, both work fine)
1/8 cup pepper and onion mix (see the recipe down the way, I use this stuff a lot)

Pinches of Cumin seed and Fennel seed (I use whole so I can toast the seeds for better flavor, but pre-ground will do just fine)
Pinches of Crushed Red Pepper, Paprika (I use smoked paprika, but you don't have to), Granulated Garlic, Onion powder, Basil Leaves

1/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Turn on your oven's broiler, and toast the Cumin and Fennel if you're using whole seeds, otherwise disregard this step.

2. Saute the peppers, onions, and mushrooms (add the mushrooms later if your peppers and onions are frozen; once they've thawed in the pan should be fine), add a little salt and pepper to this. Continue until you have some color on the vegetables.

3. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and spices with a little more salt and pepper, and stir. Turn down the heat and simmer for a couple minutes (2-5).

4. Cook the chicken patty according to the package directions.

5. Place patty in a baking dish, pour sauce over the top with cheese. Bake until the cheese has started to turn golden brown in spots.

6. Serve over a side of pasta, and possibly some vegetables on the side.

Breakfast Baked Penne

This recipe is a single serving home version of a dish I came up with for staff meal at a restaurant one morning a few years ago. The staff meal had sausage in it, and this recipe can certainly go well with a meat/protein.

Breakfast Baked Penne

2oz Penne Pasta (uncooked, by weight)
1/2 Canned Diced Tomatoes
1/2 cup Peppers and Onions
1/8 cup Mushrooms (canned or fresh both work fine)
1/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Egg
1/4 tsp Dried Basil
1/4 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Lime Juice
Pinch of Cumin Seed (whole), Garlic Powder, Onion Powder
S+P to taste
1. Put the water on high for your pasta, and begin heating your oven's broiler.
2. When the water boils, add salt to the water, let return to a boil, put the pasta in, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 6-7 minutes (you want the pasta slightly underdone because it will continue to cook when it's in the sauce and the oven).
3. Saute the peppers and onions along with the mushrooms in a non-stick pan. Add salt, pepper, and the cumin seed, garlic powder, and onion powder at this time. Cook until you get caramelization on the veggies, then set aside.
4. Scramble the egg in the same pan, and add the pepper and onion mixture into this when the egg is near done. Add the basil, oregano, tomatoes, and lime juice. Bring to a simmer.
5. Strain the pasta when it's done, and stir into the egg mixture. Simmer for about 1 minute.
6. Pour into a heat resistant single serving baking dish, top with cheese, and put into your heated oven for about 3 minutes (or until you get caramelization of the cheese).
7. Remove from the oven with an oven mitt, and place on a small plate with a towel draped over it.
8. Enjoy!

Breakfast Burrito

Most breakfast burritos you can get in a restaurant are going to have potatoes in them as a kind of filler. Personally, I hate that practice. So, instead of the potatoes, I went with rice and black beans for this. I hope you like it, because I sure do! Also, you can add meat to this if you want.

Breakfast Burrito

1 10" Tortilla

2 Eggs

1/2 cup Peppers and Onions

1/4 cup Canned Black Beans

1/4 cup Rice (uncooked)

1/4 cup shredded cheddar (or colby jack) cheese

1/4 tsp Canned Chipotles in Adobo (pureed)

1/2 tsp Lime Juice

1/4 tsp Cumin Seed (whole)

Pinch Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Dried Basil, Dried Oregano, Dried Cilantro

S+P to taste

1. Start the rice following the specific instructions for your rice maker/steamer (if you're using one). Add the lime juice to the water, and add salt and pepper.

2. When the rice is almost done, begin warming up the tortilla. Scramble the eggs in a non-stick pan  over medium heat (you can use a regular pan, but you'll need to warm up 1 Tbsp of oil first).

3. When the eggs are done, remove them from the pan and set aside somewhere where they'll be kept warm. Using the same pan, saute the peppers and onions until the onions turn translucent.

4. Add the black beans, chipotles, herbs, spices, and S+P. Cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. The starchiness of the beans might require you to add some liquid, so a little extra lime juice will not only do the trick, but it will also add a little more flavor.

5. Add the eggs to the mix, stir, and cook for about 30 seconds.

6. Get the tortilla out of wherever you've been keeping it warm, put the rice in first, and then put the egg mix on tops. Add the cheese, and roll up.

7. Enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper and Red Curry Soup

I just tested this one tonight, and I think I've got a new favorite soup. Like most of the soups I cook, I used my little slow cooker for this. It takes some time, but it's well worth the wait in my opinion.

Roasted Red Pepper and Red Curry Soup

1 Red Pepper

1 qt Vegetable Broth

1 Tbsp Red Curry Paste

1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper

1/4 tsp Whole Cumin Seed

1 cup Mirepoix (1 part celery, 1 part carrot, 2 parts onion)

1/4 cup Red Cooking Wine

Pinch Smoked Paprika, Dried Basil, Dried Oregano

S+P to taste

1. Heat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place the red pepper on a cookie sheet, and put in the oven. Roast for about an hour, turning occasionally.

3. About fifteen minutes before your pepper is due to come out begin sweating (cooking over low heat, with a little oil, to get vegetables to release their juices) the mirepoix, add salt to help this process along. Put the broth in your slow cooker and begin heating it.

4. Add the herbs and spices (including the pepper, but not the curry paste) to the mirepoix and stir.

5. When the red pepper is out of the oven, place it in an empty container with a tight fitting lid and allow it to steam for a couple minutes.

6. Take the red pepper out of the container, and strip the skin off of it (the reason for putting it in the container to steam was to make the skin easier to take off of it). Discard the skin.

7. Remove the top of the pepper, and all the seeds you can. Discard these.

8. Cut the pepper into a large dice.

9. Add the cooking wine to the mirepoix, stir, and add all of it to the broth.

10. Add the red pepper and curry paste to the broth, and cook on high for about 2 hours.

11. I like vegetable soups served "restaurant style", which means that they're blended. If you like a more rustic feel to your soups, you can leave off the blending. If you want it blended, blend it now.

12. Enjoy!

Guarded Treasure Breakfast Sandwich

I'm sure this sandwich isn't unique, but this is something I started fixing on my own. If it's like yours, sorry, but I won't remove it as I worked this one out myself (it really isn't too hard). Again, this one is pretty "flexitarian" as you can add a meat if you want. You can also saute some peppers and onions to go inside of it. This is most easily done in a good quality non-stick pan.

Guarded Treasure Breakfast Sandwich

1 egg

2 slices of bread

Cheese (I use slices of colby jack, but you can use whatever cheese, sliced or shredded, that you want)

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Toast the bread. Take a biscuit cutter and cut a hole into one slice.

2. Heat a pan over medium heat, add the bread slice with the hole in it (or both, with the cheese on the whole slice, if your pan is big enough. Crack the egg into the hole. Season with salt and pepper.

3. When the egg is almost completely cooked, flip it and the bread it's in over. Add the cheese, and begin to melt.

4. Add the whole slice of bread, and flip over again. Cook until cheese has melted. Put onto a plate egg side up.

5. Enjoy!

Smothered Burrito

This is another single serving dish that I've decided to add to my cookbook. The first iteration of this recipe was a bit too spicy even for me, and the second was still spicier than I wanted it to be. To that end, I've cut down the amount of Chipotles in Adobo, and I've removed the cayenne and Chipotle Tabasco entirely. If your aren't one for spicy food, even the latest iteration might be too much for you (if you don't like spicy food, you'd do well to cut out the chipotles in adobo entirely). Still, I think most people will be able to enjoy this recipe as it stands now. As with most of my recipes, this one can easily be a "flexitarian" dish. If you want to add some ground beef to it, or use a vegetarian green chili, I'm sure it would taste delicious.

Single Serving Smothered Burrito

1  10" Tortilla

1/2 cup Peppers and Onions mix

1/2 Canned diced tomatoes

1/4 Black beans (canned work fine, but if you have dried around be sure they soak for about 8 hours before you try to cook them, and that you drain off the water they soaked in)

1/4 Rice (uncooked)

1/2 cup Pork green chili (again, canned will do fine, but my suggestion would be to make some yourself; I'll be posting a recipe for that later)

1/4 tsp Onion powder

1/4 tsp Garlic powder

1/4 tsp Oregano

1/4 tsp Cumin seed (whole)

1/2 tsp Canned chipotles in adobo (pureed)

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Pinch dried cilantro, smoked paprika, mild chile rojo

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Whether you're using a steamer, rice maker, or just doing it on the stove top, this is the time to start your rice. Follow the instructions for your machine, or on the bag of rice.

2. When your rice is nearly done, turn on your oven to its warm setting, put the tortilla on a plate, and place it in the oven.

3. Heat 1 Tbsp of canola oil in a skillet over medium heat, add the peppers and onions.

4. Once the peppers and onions begin to caramelize, add the tomatoes, black beans, chipotles, herbs, spices, and salt and pepper. Stir, reduce heat, and simmer slowly for 5-10 minutes. Heat the pork green chili in a small saucepan.

5. When the rice is done, get your tortilla out of the oven and put the rice in a line roughly in the middle of the tortilla. Then add the tomato mixture, roll up the tortilla (you don't need to worry about closing up the ends, but you can if you want), top with pork green and cheese. Place into your warm oven to melt the cheddar.

6. Enjoy!

And the work continues...

I've been working hard on the cookbook I mentioned the last time out, and I'm almost halfway to the minimum number of recipes. They're only outlines at the moment, but I'll start testing them soon. Keep your eyes peeled, as I'll post a few here. A little teaser for what's to come.