review: weeknight meals

September 18, 2011 Favorite

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Good Bite Weeknight Meals: Delicious Made Easy is just out, featuring food from some of my favorite bloggers (all listed below). GoodBite.com started out as a place to showcase the best food bloggers on video and has successfully grown to reach more than a million visitors a month. Good Bite’s motto is “delicious made easy” and they tell us that, “A well-stocked pantry (and fridge and freezer) will be your best friend” and it includes a convenient list of food staples for each of those areas.

Good Bite Weeknight Meals is focused on dinner-time fare and is separated into chapters of meats, vegetarian, pasta, and more. All of the meals are quick to prepare, (like the Southwestern Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Roasted Chiles!), whether it’s when everyone returns home from their busy schedules or to throw into the crockpot in the morning. The recipes frequently have tips from the bloggers that they would use when pressed for time, like how to use frozen, chopped spinach when you don’t have any that is fresh.

I loved the simple comfort food recipe for Southern Chicken and Dumplings from Christy Jordan of the Southern Plate, which uses soup, broth and biscuits from cans and rotisserie chicken. She also shares a slow-cooker lasagna with only five ingredients! The photographer for Good Bite Weeknight Meals, Matt Armendariz of Matt Bites, offers not only stunning photography, but several recipes, including an excellent rendition of one of my favorites, Broccoli Crunch Salad!

Healthy recipes abound in Good Bite Weeknight Meals, which offer a way to replenish needed nutrients at the end of a busy day. Fast Fish Tacos, Curried Shrimp Fried Rice, Chilled Soba Noodles, and Roasted Chicken Thighs with Mango Chutney are just a few of the wholesome evening meal dishes. I echo the dedication at the start of the book thanking these talented bloggers for “leading us back into our kitchens.”

Contributors to Good Bite Weeknight Meals:
Andrea’s Recipes – Andrea Meyers
Weelicious – Catherine McCord
Southern Plate – Christy Jordan
White on Rice Couple – Diane Cu and Todd Porter
Simply Recipes – Elise Bauer
Steamy Kitchen – Jaden Hair
Picky Palate – Jenny Flake
Dinner with Julie – Julie Van Rosendaal
Kath Eats – Kath Younger
Our Best Bites – Kate Jones and Sara Wells
Laura’s Best Recipes – Laura Levy
Recipe Girl – Lori Lange
No Recipes – Marc Matsumoto
Coconut & Lime – Rachel Rappaport
Gluten-Free Girl – Shauna James Ahern and Daniel Ahern
Matt Bites – Matt Armendariz

From Good Bite Weeknight Meals:

By Jaden Hair, steamykitchen
This chicken, sausage, and shrimp jambalaya is one of my family’s favorites. When it’s cooked “low and slow” in the slow cooker, the chicken is especially tender and delicious.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1-inch-thick pieces
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, plus additional for seasoning
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus additional for seasoning
2 celery stalks, diced
1 bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
1 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon Tabasco or hot sauce, or to taste
½ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cups hot cooked rice or 1 large baguette

Directions:
You’ll want to prep and get this recipe going in the morning—the jambalaya needs four to six hours of cooking time on the slow cooker’s high setting, or six to eight hours if cooked on low. Serves 4 to 6.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sausage, season to taste with salt and black pepper, and cook, turning once, until browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken and sausage to a slow cooker, reserving the oil in the pan.

Add the celery, bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the vegetables are softened and fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Transfer the vegetables to the slow cooker. Add the broth, crushed tomatoes, Cajun seasoning, paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and Tabasco sauce. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 6 hours.

Once the jambalaya is cooked, turn off the slow cooker and skim away any excess oil on the surface. Add the shrimp and stir until pink, 3 to 5 minutes. (The residual heat from the slow cooker will suffice to cook the shrimp.) If desired, add more salt, black pepper, and Tabasco sauce. Serve the jambalaya over hot cooked rice or with bread.

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