Sunday Food Prep

Its always extra hard to sign off from the weekend after it being a great one! Saturday, John and I headed into the city to catch the Islanders playoff game at a pub on the UES. I used to live fairly close to this pub a few years ago and was a frequent visitor, so I remembered they were one of the few who always showed the Islanders games on their big screens. We had such a blast hanging with fellow fans, ordering some drinks and enjoying the gorgeous day in the city. It was a big win and we were pretty excited about it. I will admit, before meeting John I wasn't too knowledgeable when it came to hockey, but I will say its become so damn exciting to watch. After our big defeat, we headed to Angus Club Steakhouse in Midtown East for some dinner. I had been contacted and asked to review the year old steakhouse and it was such a wonderful experience. Here's a few snaps of some of our tasty indulgences from last night (review to come at Examiner.com).

Cosmopolitan martini to start. 

 Pan seared lump crab cake.

Jumbo lump crabmeat cocktail.

Porterhouse steak for two. 

Perfectly cooked steak with truffle mac and cheese and creamed spinach.

We were filled to the brim and ended the evening with two cappuccinos and brought our leftovers to my brother while he was working the night shift. We couldn't let such deliciousness go to waste. Today we did a small food shopping for some weekly necessities that were needed and then enjoyed the weather with a run and a bike ride. John ran and I rode :) I figured I would start prepping dinner early and get to cooking for the week since Sunday is the best day for us to prep. I remembered we had peppers that we had not used yet so I figured slow cooker stuffed peppers would be an easy meal to warm up during the week. They are easy enough to throw together and personally, I enjoy them much better a few days after cooking.

Ingredients: 

-ground beef, chicken or turkey 

-1 whole onion 

-4 to 6 bell peppers (I like to mix up the colors) 

-1 cup of brown rice 

-garlic powder 

-salt 

-pepper 

-1 can of tomato sauce 

Directions: 

Drizzle your pan with some olive oil and brown your meat over medium heat. Make sure to really get all of the bits nicely ground and chopped up. In the meantime, boil 2 cups of water, 1 cup of brown rice and 1 tsp of salt in a saucepan. Once boiling, lower your heat and let your rice simmer for about 40-50 minutes. While that continues to boil and your meat browns, finely chop one whole white onion and place into a mixing bowl. Take your peppers and drag your knife around the tops. Once a full circular cut has been made, pull off the tops by their stems and make sure the excess membrane and seeds are removed. Once your meat is completely browned, pour into and colander and strain any excess liquid. Throw your meat into the bowl with your onions. Once your rice has finished cooking, scoop about 2 cups into your bowl. Mix your meat, onions and rice together and season with salt, pepper and a fair amount of garlic powder. I also like to add garlic powder to the meat while its browning. Spoon your mixture into your peppers and pack down with a spoon. Once they are filled, place your peppers in your crockpot and top with 1 can of tomato sauce. Add about a cup of water to the crockpot so the peppers steam and cook through nicely. Cook for 6 hours on low heat. You can also make these in your oven in a deep pan covered with tin foil on 350 degrees for about an hour. I like to slow cook ours because the peppers get extra tender and yummy. 

Tonight's dinner was one of my childhood favorites that my mother used to make all the time. Chicken with mushrooms in a white wine sauce. Its a simple take on chicken marsala and seriously only requires six ingredients. I figured since we had all of the ingredients handy and I was already making brown rice for our stuffed peppers, this would be an easy one to throw together. I swear, as a kid I could have probably eaten this every night. John loves it too!

Ingredients:

-5 thinly sliced chicken cutlets 

-1/2 cup of all purpose flour 

-salt

-pepper

For your mushroom sauce: 

-1 can of golden mushroom

-1 cup of white wine 

-1 cup of water 

Directions: 

In a bowl, mix your flour, salt and pepper together. Slice your chicken cutlets into cubs and dredge them in the flour mix making sure to cover fully. Heat a large pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil and once hot, throw your chicken in and brown on both sides for about 10 minutes. Once fully browned, remove from the pan and place into a bowl and set aside. Add 1 can of golden mushroom to the same pan and 1 cup of water. Whisk together well until fully blended. Then add 1 cup of white cooking wine and make sure to get any excess flour off the edges of your pan into the mix. Let come to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat, add your chicken back in, cover and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes. I like for my sauce to thicken a bit. Once done, serve over a nice heaping scoop of brown rice. You can even add some extra veggies into the mix if you'd like. 

This recipe is a no brainer and is so hearty and satisfying. Well readers, I'm in a bit of a cooking overload and its almost time for Game of Thrones! Any of my readers out there into GOT too? We're pretty much obsessed and so excited to see what this season has in store. Until our next meal...xo