School Night Suppers - Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken and Chickpea Stew

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The days grow shorter at this time of year. We lose the light and the pressure of full calendars makes it difficult to accomplish all that must be done with grace and humor. At various times, I've found myself wishing for a clone or, at the very least, an evil twin to help with the cooking and shopping and "et cetera" that has become so much a part of our daily lives. While some will swear they've encountered my evil twin in the kitchen, they exaggerate. I certainly have never seen her and the clones all seem to have gone to a higher bidder. Even so, I've found some techniques that help make dinner easier to accomplish. The real trick is learning how to simplify whenever it is possible. That means that some everyday meals become faster and easier to prepare than might normally be the case. This recipe is an example of a weeknight meal that comes together in minutes. It uses standard pantry ingredients and while it was designed to simmer in a slow cooker, you can also cook it stovetop if that is more to your liking. I found the recipe in Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook and it makes a pleasant weeknight meal. If you are looking for a quick and easy addition to your menu rotation, grab a can opener and give this recipe a try. Here is how this Moroccan stew is made.

School Night Suppers - Skillet Stroganoff

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Here is another quick-fix meal that will help you cope with a busy fall schedule. The base of the dish is ground beef and the addition of mushrooms and sour cream make it a bit like a beef Stroganoff. However, the addition of pasta takes this one-skillet dish in a whole other direction. The recipe which was the inspiration for this meal comes from the blog Taste and Tell. Rotini was used as the pasta in that recipe. I've come to the conclusion that rotini is nothing more than small rotelle, and I honestly think that any small pasta can be used in its place. It takes about 15 minutes to assemble the skillet and you'll need another 30 minutes to cook it. The good news is that all of the cooking is done in the same skillet, so the dish also qualifies as a one dish meal. The pasta makes this a substantial meal and it is one I think your family will enjoy. Here is how it is made.

Table for Two - Crispy Peanut Chicken

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The week before most holidays is crazy around here. I'm generally up to my elbows preparing dishes that can be made ahead and frozen prior to the holiday itself, so it's a busy time in my kitchen. This year we are going to be alone for Easter weekend and that has considerably eased my kitchen chores. I would love to tell you I've been experimenting and creating new dishes that will make your socks go up and down, but that hasn't been the case. Meals and desserts have been stupid simple and I've spent most of the time reading and working on some long delayed projects that needed my attention. Tonight's dinner is a case in point. It is Asian-ish, quite easy to do and if you are willing to use your deep fryer once in a while, I know you'll like it. The recipe I'm featuring has no heat and the sauce contains no peanut butter. You can add both if you want your chicken to have more oomph, but the tomato sauce is quite nice as a stand alone and really needs no enhancements. The recipe is scaled to feed two people, so I hope those of you who are without chick or child will give it a try. Here is how this simple but scrumptious chicken is made.

Fogarty's Cod Fish Pie - A Lenten Casserole

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've had this "pie" at least a hundred times since I was a little girl. It's one of those dishes that people try to relegate to the back burner, but it always manages to push its way back to the front of the stove. Fish pie is great Lenten fare, and it usually ends up on the tables of the observant at least once during the Lenten season. Those of you who are not familiar with fish pies have probably had their kissin' cousin, Shepherd's Pie. Here, instead of ground lamb or beef, it's fish that is sauced and top with a thick blanket of mashed potatoes. Like many cooks, I enrich the sauce in which the fish cooks with cheese, despite  injunctions from food Nazi's who insist fish and cheese should not be served together. I also go all out and make a very rich potato topping for the pie. As a matter of fact, I make Champ, a potato dish that's much loved in Ireland, to cover the casserole. Champ looks like colcannon, another  potato dish that is native to the Northern Ireland. It's made by blending scallions or green onions into a base of rich and creamy mashed potatoes, and while it is great on its own, angel's sing when Champ is used to top a fish pie. It's also great with Italian sausage, but I'll save that discussion for another day. When I was quite young, my grandmother, the very Irish Maude, would add a handful of shrimp or chopped sea scallops to the white fish she used to make the pie. Back in the day, white fish, usually perch or cod could be bought at the supermarket in a frozen block for less than a dollar a pound, so Maude lived large when she made fish pie and added more expensive fish with abandon. She and my mother also shared a love of Finnan Haddie, so we often found that smoky addition in our pies as well. Now, I must be honest. There are those among you who will not like the pie even if it's made with lobster, and I suspect that most of you would not want to eat this on a daily basis, but it is good basic food and great for an occasional meatless meal. Good Friday is coming and that's a perfect day to give the pie a try. Here is how it's made.

Easy Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a simple dish that I make for lunch when we are at the lake, or for day game when we are home and I have a gang in the living room. The enchiladas, which are inexpensive to make, can be prepared in 15 minutes, and on the table in less than an hour. They are perfect for informal family meals or occasions when friends drop by. Chances are you have everything you need to make them in your pantry, but if it is at all possible, I'd like to suggest you make the enchiladas with fresh corn kernels. It adds a bit of work and mess to the endeavor, but I think you will find it time well spent. Having said that, frozen or canned corn can be used if that is all you have on hand and you will still have a meal worthy of your family and guests. These are not highly spiced enchiladas, so children will usually eat them without complaint, and because they are meatless, they make a great entree for a Meatless Monday meal. I do hope you'll give this simple recipe a try. The spinach makes them a bit unusual, but it adds color and contributes unique flavor and texture to the enchiladas. Here is how they are made.

Pantry Noodle Nosh

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These noodles are so basic that any similarity to Pad Thai or Chow Fun is strictly accidental. They are made from refrigerator and pantry scraps that were thrown together when I found my fresh rice noodles were beginning to dry out and had to used. Unfortunately, the noodles I use come in 2 pound packages and I rarely use them all in one sitting. That means there will be at least a pound of fresh noodles left for another meal. This quick stir fry is one way to use them. To make the noodles substantial enough for a light supper, I gave the dish a protein boost with some eggs and used extra vegetables to give it some heft. It turned out well. My recipe is deliberately vague when it comes to the preparation of the noodles for the dish. I've learned it is best to follow the manufacturers directions for cooking them. Rice noodles can be tricky to make because they will literally "melt" away if you cook them for too long a period of time. When using fresh rice noodles, I use my microwave to get the process started. I've found that nuking then for a minute is sufficient time to make the noodles pliable and ready for the wok where they will be tossed and cooked until they are soft and warmed through. This is a good recipe to use when you have bits and bobs left from other Asian-style meals on hand. I do hope you'll give it a try. Here is how these noodles are made.

Poor Boy Steak

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I saw this recipe on Kami's blog, "No Biggie", and I knew I had to give it a try. The recipe was created by her mother, Debbie Markle,  who won first place for it at a beef cook-off  while she was still in high school. Kami uses her mother's marinade for an upgraded version of the recipe which swaps tri-tip steak for the pot roast used in the original dish.  I probably should change the name of the recipe because poor boy's don't eat tri-tip steak in this area of the country, but because I'm featuring the recipe exactly as it appeared on No Biggie, it didn't feel right to play with her title. There are a couple of things I wanted to share with you. You know that horrid orange French dressing that we hate to use. Well, I used it here because that is what would have been available at the time of her mother competed in the beef cook-off. I also swapped Heinz 57 Sauce for the ketchup to add extra flavor to the marinade. If you decide to give this recipe a try, remember that it needs to marinate for 24 hours before it is grilled. While it is not inexpensive to make, it is very easy to prepare. I'll be making this again, but the next time it surfaces in my rotation, I think I'll use a pot roast so I can compare the two versions. I do hope you give this recipe a try. Here is how Poor Boy Steak is made.