Culinary Adventures

2010-02-14T19:24:00.002-05:00

Grilled Chicken with Mango Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients

Salsa:
2/3 cup diced peeled ripe mango (1 medium)
2/3 cup diced fresh pineapple
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 tablespoon minced seeded jalapeño pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Chicken:
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup pineapple juice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
Dash of crushed red pepper
Cooking spray

Preparation

1. To prepare salsa, combine first 8 ingredients. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes.

2. To prepare chicken, place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Combine pineapple juice and next 5 ingredients (through red pepper) in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes.

3. Prepare grill.

4. Remove chicken from bag, reserving marinade. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until done.

5. Place reserved marinade in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 5 minutes). Drizzle over chicken. Serve salsa with chicken.

Um. Hello. This is what they in the The Industry (and by 'the industry' i mean 'the people in my kitchen' by which I mean 'me') call A WINNER. This recipe could not be easier and it was positively delightful. Yum. Yum. and YUM.

2010-02-07T16:33:00.002-05:00

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) butter, softened
1 and 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 and 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips and walnuts, if using them.

At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you’re impatient, but I do find that they end up slightly less thick.

The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

Courtesy of Smitten Kitchen. These are so good! Chewy and moist and delicious.

2010-02-06T13:42:00.003-05:00

Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 whole Small Carrrot, Finely Minced
1/2 onion chopped
1 Tablespoon Garlic, Crushed And Minced
1 pound White Mushrooms, Sliced Thin
4 ounces, fluid Chablis White Wine
4 ounces, fluid Tomato Juice
4 ounces, fluid Chicken Broth
1 pint half and half
1 cup Parmesan Cheese, Freshly Grated
1 teaspoon Cornstarch
¼ cups Water
1 pinch Salt And Pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Heat oil, over medium heat, in a large deep pot.

Mince the carrot and celery nice and fine. Too big and the soup will end up chunky. Toss into the pot and allow them to soften while you slice the mushrooms. (Please remember to clean the mushrooms first. You probably already knew that … I’m just sayin’.) Next, add your garlic, right as the carrots and celery start to cook down.

Add the mushrooms to the pot and allow them to reduce and soften. Pour in the Chablis, and let it cook with the mushrooms for a few minutes.

Add the tomato juice, and the chicken broth. Allow it to boil for about 5 minutes before adding the heavy whipping cream, and bring to a soft boil.

Grate Parmesan and add it to the pot. Let this cook for a few minutes, until the cheese is melted and blended with the soup. Add the cornstarch to 1/4 cup of water, then pour into the soup.

Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes or so, until thickened. Salt and pepper the soup to your own tastes.

So good! Nothing like your standard Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. Like so much of what I make in the kitchen, this recipe came about because I picked up some mushrooms for crazy cheap at Aldi. I pureed the garlic, onion, and carrot and it thickened up the soup nicely. Warm and hearty.

2010-02-06T13:39:00.001-05:00

Pioneer Woman's Homemade Salsa

Ingredients

1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
¼ cups Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
¼ teaspoons Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
½ cups Cilantro (more To Taste!)
½ whole Lime Juice

Instructions:

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

I'd never even thought about attempting salsa before but now I may never go back. This is so easy with a food processor and ADDICTING. It really is just like restaurant style salsa. Definitely worth a try.

2010-01-30T13:36:00.005-05:00

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Stir continuously, until the brown sugar dissolves. (You can also do this in the microwave but watch it closely. The butter/sugar mixture will boil over fast. Stir every 30 seconds or so.)
Remove from heat, whisk in the vanilla and set aside to cool.
Beat the cream cheese and confectioner's sugar for 1 minute.
Slowly beat in the cooled butter mixture and beat again for another minute.
Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts, if using.
Pour into a serving bowl and refrigerate.
Garnish with additional chocolate chips or nuts, if you choose.

My friend Victoria had a Dip-off in honor of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine's boyfriend asks the question "Why can't dip be a meal?" Turns out the answer is because eating one's body weight in dip is a bad idea, physically emotionally, spiritually... anyway this was one of the dip's I made, and I don't mind saying that it won the award for the best sweet dip. It tastes exactly like it sounds- cookie dough dip.

2010-01-30T13:32:00.001-05:00

Sweet Potato Hummus

Ingredients
1 pound sweet potatoes
1 teaspoon cumin
1 large lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 teaspoons brown sugar
Zest of one orange
Pita slices, toasted, or bagel chips

Bake or microwave sweet potatoes until fully cooked. Allow the potatoes to cool, then remove the skins and discard them, retaining the flesh. Toast the cumin seeds on low heat, then crush by hand. (Seeds can be crushed by using a mortar and pestle or by smashing between a saucepan and cutting board.) Add seeds and sweet potato to the food processor, together with the lemon juice, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, olive oil, brown sugar, orange zest and tahini. (Tahini is a thick paste made of ground sesame seeds that can be purchased already prepared from many supermarkets and specialty stores.) Blend until smooth and creamy. (You may want to add more salt or sugar, depending on the sweetness of the potatoes.)

Hello, deliciousness. I was a little unsure of this at first but then I pretty much wanted to eat the whole thing with a spoon- it helped to let it sit for a day to let the flavors meld.

2010-01-28T13:29:00.001-05:00

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 pound dried black beans
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 Tbls olive oil
1 1/2 cups of sweet potato puree
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 Tbls Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt

1. Rinse and pick over beans for rocks. Cover dried beans with water and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow beans to soak for 1 hour. Drain.

2. In a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and carrots and saute until onions are tender.

3. Combine beans, sauteed vegetables, sweet potato puree, broth and seasonings in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender, about 1 hour. Serve with sour cream if desired.

For variation, add any of the following to the soup as it simmers:

* 1 can corn, drained
* 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
* 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped and 1 tsp fresh lime juice

2010-01-17T17:24:00.001-05:00

White Bean and Kale Soup with Turkey Sausage
14 cups of soup or 9 1-1/2 cup servings

1 pound Italian turkey sausage (casing removed)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
2 carrots (chopped)
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can white beans
1 bunch kale (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 bay leaf
1/4 red pepper flakes (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1 parmigiano reggiano rind (optional)
* chicken stock (I needed 7 cups of 99% fat-free stock and 2 cups of water. – Kris)

1) In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat until browned, breaking it up with the back of a spoon as you go. Remove to a plate when finished.

2) In the same skillet, heat oil over medium or medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook between 7 and 10 minutes, until soft, stirring occasionally. Add garlic. Cook about 30 seconds, until fragrant.

3) Add sausage and the remaining ingredients, ending with enough chicken broth to just cover everything. Cover, turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, drop heat to a simmer and cook between 30 minutes and 1 hour.

4) Fish out bay leaf and cheese rind. Serve. Garnish each bowl with parsley and grated parm.

2010-01-17T16:20:00.001-05:00

Pasta with Kale and Chick Peas
(Serves 4-6)

3/4 box shaped pasta (I chose castellane, which looks somewhere in between large shells and rigatoni)
1/2 large bunch kale, chopped and thick stalks trimmed
1 can chick peas, drained
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tbspn olive oil
1 – 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbspn butter
1/2 cup grated parmiggiano
1/4 tspn red pepper flakes
Optional: fresh basil leaves
Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

Boil pasta in salted water. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil, and add kale and garlic. Stir for a minute or two, and add chick peas. Add red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste. Slowly add cream and bring to a boil. Stir in pasta, butter, optional fresh basil, and parmiggiano, and season with a little more salt and pepper. After a quick toss, serve immediately. Add more parmiggiano on top if desired.

2009-12-13T10:56:00.001-05:00

Black Bean Hummus

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, peeled
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon tahini (roasted sesame seed paste)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small jalapeño pepper, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
Dash of crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Dash of ground red pepper
1 (6-ounce) bag pita chips (such as Stacy's Simply Naked)

Preparation

1. Place garlic in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add lemon juice, tahini, cumin, salt, black beans, jalapeño pepper, and crushed red pepper; process until smooth. Spoon bean mixture into a medium bowl, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with ground red pepper. Serve with pita chips.

This is a recipe I found in a magazine that was inspired by the black bean hummus at Barley's Pizzeria in Greenville- one of my favorite foods in the whole city, hand down. DELICIOUS.

2009-07-17T16:22:00.000-04:00

Gnocchi with Vodka Cream Sauce

1 package gnocchi
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoon vodka
3 tablespoon heavy cream
1 cup Gabriel's Tomato Sauce, recipe follows

Shortly before serving, bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Reduce the heat so the water maintains an active simmer. Working in small batches, drop gnocchi into the water. Cook the gnocchi until they float 3 to 4 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain fully in a colander.

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften. Add the vodka, cream, and tomato sauce, and simmer until the flavors blend, 2 to 3 minutes.

Immediately before serving, add the gnocchi to the sauce and heat, stirring gently to coat. Spoon the gnocchi into warm bowls and serve.

Gabriel's Tomato Sauce:

14 ounces canned or fresh ripe tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Puree whole tomatoes without their liquid in a food mill. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add the pureed tomatoes. Add the basil, season with salt and pepper and simmer, stirring frequently until the sauce is concentrated, about 25 minutes. Remove the basil and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

Kristen and I made this for a few friends during her visit to South Carolina, and it was very well received. I just love gnocchi.

2009-07-15T16:02:00.000-04:00

Mexican Casserole

olive oil for sauteing
3 cloves garlic
1 onion
3/4 pound cubed skinless, boneless chicken breast meat
1/2 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, undrained
1 (8.75 ounce) can sweet corn, undrained
3/4 cup salsa
1 cup shredded Mexican-style cheese
1 1/2 cups crushed plain tortilla chips

In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute garlic and onions. Add chicken and saute until cooked through and no longer pink inside. Add taco seasoning, beans, corn, salsa. Cover skillet and simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Transfer chicken mixture to a 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with 1/2 cup of the cheese and crushed tortilla chips.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup cheese and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Yummy. Took this to the Nielsen's shortly after John Paul was born- made half for them and half for myself. It's incredibly easy, cheap and adaptable. I served Patrick leftovers the next day and he gushed about them. A little avocado on top really makes it perfect.

2009-05-11T13:43:00.002-04:00

Sausage Balls

1 pound ground pork sausage (I use hot- it's not that spicy)
2 cups Bisquick baking mix
1 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine sausage, biscuit baking mix and cheese. Form into walnut size balls and place on baking sheets.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, until golden brown.

Sausage Balls are, apparently, a southern staple- one I had never encountered prior to my move. I was recently introduced to them at a friend's bridal shower, and when I looked up the recipe, I couldn't believe they were made of three ingredients! So incredibly easy, and totally delicious.

2009-05-11T13:38:00.002-04:00

Artichoke Spinach Dip

4 cloves garlic
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 ounce) container Alfredo-style pasta sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Saute the garlic in a pan. In a mixing bowl, combine the garlic, spinach, artichoke hearts, Alfredo-style pasta sauce, half the mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and cream cheese.
Spread in an 8x8 inch baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining mozarella cheese on top.
Cover and bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until cheeses are melted and bubbly. Serve warm.

This might be my favorite food... ever. Seriously. When served with a sweet beer bread it's just like this cheesy garlicy party in your mouth. Mmmm I'm so glad I have leftovers.

2009-05-11T13:33:00.003-04:00

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Frosting

1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
assorted food coloring

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.

I made these into tiny feet for Alycia's baby shower, and frosted them blue and brown- the icing is amazing! It dries all glossy and looks like it came from a bakery! Or, at least it would if I had any artistic skill.

2009-05-11T13:29:00.002-04:00

German Apple Cake

2 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups apples - peeled, cored and diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch cake pan (or, I used a bundt pan.
In a mixing bowl; beat oil and eggs with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat well.
Combine the flour salt, baking soda, and ground cinnamon together in a bowl. Slowly add this mixture to the egg mixture and mix until combined. The batter will be very thick. Fold in the apples by hand using a wooden spoon. Spread batter into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes or until cake tests done. Let cake cool on a wire rack. Once cake is cool serve with a dusting of confectioners' sugar or with a Cream Cheese Frosting.

I made this for Alycia's shower and took the leftover's to Craig's, where it was very-well received. I believe Patrick's exact quote was "Holy crap, this is the best cake I have ever had! Who made this?! Seriously, top 5 things I've ever eaten." So yeah, definitely a winner- so easy, but it's super moist and yummy.

2009-03-19T21:31:00.003-04:00

Mae's Cheeseburger Soup

2 lbs. hamburger
4 cups cooked rice
1 cup carrots
1 onion
1 pound Velveeta cheese
4 Cups milk
4 t chicken bouillon
1 16oz pkg sour cream
4 t pepper

Saute onions and carrots in a large pot until tender. Cook rice according to directions. Brown hamburger in a frying pan.

Add hamburger, rice, milk, cheese to the vegetables and heat through. Add sour cream last (do not boil).

This recipe is courtesy of our Amish-ish friend, Mae, passed to me through my mother. I happened to have everything on hand so I made a big pot of it- and I do mean big. Seriously, don't make this stuff unless you're expecting the Duggar family for dinner or you plan on making April the Month of Cheeseburger Soup. I've been eating it for a week and finally took it to TJ & Alycia's to get rid of the last bit. It's a great comfort food and I especially like it with tortilla chips and salsa.

2009-03-13T19:36:00.005-04:00

Shrimp Lemon Pepper Linguini

1 (8 ounce) package linguine pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
salt to taste
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguine, and cook for 9 to 13 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and saute garlic about 1 minute. Mix in chicken broth, wine, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat, and simmer until liquid is reduced by about 1/2.

Mix shrimp, butter, and basil into the saucepan. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, until shrimp is opaque. Stir in the cooked linguine, and continue cooking 2 minutes, until well coated.

This was a Friday Lenten meal, thanks to Aldi and their ridiculously cheap seafood sales. True to its name, it's got a real pepper 'kick' to it, but if you're into that sort of thing (which I am) it's quite delicious.

2009-03-12T21:31:00.004-04:00

Asian Chicken with Peanuts

2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 3/4 cups Chicken Stock
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into strips
2 cups broccoli florets
2 small red peppers, cut into 2-inch-long strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup salted peanuts
4 cups Hot cooked regular long-grain white rice

Stir the cornstarch, stock, soy sauce, ginger and sesame oil, if desired, in a medium bowl until the mixture is smooth.

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and stir-fry until it is well browned, stirring often. Remove the chicken from the skillet.

Reduce the heat to medium. Heat the remaining vegetable oil in the skillet. Add the broccoli, peppers and garlic and stir-fry until the vegetables are tender-crisp. Stir the cornstarch mixture in the skillet. Cook and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Return the chicken to the skillet. Stir in the peanuts and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Serve over the rice.

This is the best stir fry I have ever made, and some of the best I've tasted, period. But then, I have a strong like of all things nutty. Regardless, this was quick and easy and great as leftovers.

2009-02-07T20:50:00.001-05:00

Sweet Potato Casserole

4 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped pecans

In a mixing bowl, combine the sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, milk, salt, 1/3 cup butter and vanilla. Mix together and pour into a greased 13x9 inch baking dish.

To prepare the topping, combine in a separate bowl the brown sugar, flour, 1/3 cup melted butter and pecans. Mix together and crumble over sweet potato mixture. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 45 minutes.

2009-02-04T22:20:00.000-05:00

Banana Muffins

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
dash or two of nutmeg
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mashed bananas

Preheat oven to 400*
Using a whisk, combine all your dry ingredients in one bowl: whole wheat and AP flour, sugar, baking soda and powder, salt, nuts, spices).
Beat the egg lightly in a separate bowl. Whisk in milk, applesauce, vanilla to the eggs.
Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Fold bananas in.
Divide the batter among a greased or paper-lined muffin tin.
Bake for about 18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

2009-02-03T21:15:00.000-05:00

Black Bean Burritos

3 cloves minced garlic
1 small onion chopped
1 t minced jalepeno peppers
1 T olive oil
1 (10.75 ounce) can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup Thick & Chunky Salsa
1/2 cup water
1 cup white rice
1 can corn
1 can black beans
2 cups shredded chicken, seasoned with 1 t cumin and 1/2 t chili powder
4 flour tortillas (10-inch)

Heat oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Place onion, garlic and jalapeños in skillet, cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Add soup and salsa and heat to a boil. Pour beans into skillet, cook 3 minutes stirring. Add corn, rice and chicken and heat through.
Spoon about 1 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Fold tortilla around filling. Cover with cheese and bake (or microwave) until cheese is melted.

2009-01-28T22:48:00.002-05:00

Chipotle Pepper and Black Bean Chili

1-1/2 lbs. ground beef
2 14-oz. cans beef broth or chicken broth
1 16-oz. jar chunky salsa
1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz. can golden hominy, rinsed and drained
2 cups loose-pack frozen diced hash brown potatoes
1 to 2 canned chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped*
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp. ground cumin
Dairy sour cream, chopped avocado and/or shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Tortilla chips or corn bread (optional)

In a large skillet, cook ground beef until meat is brown. Drain off fat. Transfer meat to a 4- or 5-quart slow cooker. Stir broth, salsa, beans, hominy, potatoes, chipotle peppers, chili powder, oregano and cumin into meat in cooker.
Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high-setting for 3-1/2 to 4 hours.
Top individual servings with sour cream, avocado and cheddar cheese and serve with tortilla chips, if you like. Makes 6 servings (9-1/2 cups total)

2009-01-24T22:48:00.001-05:00

Kansas City Steak Soup

1 1/2 pounds cubed steak
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2 14-ounce cans beef broth or 3-1/2 cups beef stock
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 10-ounce package frozen mixed vegetables
2 tablespoons steak sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

In a pot, cook beef, onion and celery over medium heat until meat is brown and vegetables are tender. Drain well; return to pot.
Stir in 1 can of the beef broth, undrained tomatoes, mixed vegetables, steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together remaining can of beef broth and the flour. Stir into mixture in pot Cook until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Makes 6 main-dish servings.

2009-01-22T22:47:00.003-05:00

Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (to taste)
1/2 teaspoons ground cloves (to taste)
3 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Grease three 12 cup muffin pans, or line with paper muffin liners. Soak raisins in hot water for ten minutes to plump, then drain.
In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground cloves. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, pumpkin, and applesauce, until smooth. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly to make a smooth batter. Stir the raisins and walnuts into the batter. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

2009-01-22T21:13:00.001-05:00

Caramel Apple Pork Chops

2 (3/4 inch) thick pork chops
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1tart apple - peeled, cored and sliced
3 tablespoons pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 175 degrees F (80 degrees C). Place a medium dish in the oven to warm.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brush chops lightly with oil and place in hot pan. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally, or until done. Transfer to the warm dish, and keep warm in the preheated oven.
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, salt and pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add butter to skillet, and stir in brown sugar mixture and apples. Cover and cook until apples are just tender. Remove apples with a slotted spoon and arrange on top of chops. Keep warm in the preheated oven.
Continue cooking sauce uncovered in skillet, until thickened slightly. Spoon sauce over apples and chops. Sprinkle with pecans.

2009-01-07T22:49:00.002-05:00

Chicken Scarpariello

1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons butter
2 tablespoons shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
1/2 cup white wine
1 cube chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper

Cut chicken breasts into 1 x 3 inch strips, and dredge in flour.
In 10 inch skillet, heat oil and butter. Add chicken. Cook, turning occasionally, until lightly browned on all sides (3 to 4 minutes). Using tongs, remove chicken from skillet. Set aside and keep warm.
To same skillet, add shallots and garlic. Saute until softened (1 minute). Add water, wine, broth mix, and seasonings. Mix well. Cook, stirring frequently, until liquid is reduced by 1/2 (3 to 4 minutes). Return chicken to skillet, and cook until sauce is thick and chicken is heated through (2 to 3 minutes). Serve over angel hair pasta.

This was a thank-you dinner for Craig, in my appreciate for his picking me up from the airport. I served it with green beans and pasta; beer for him. Like a white sauce, this isn't nearly as rich and you don't feel like taking a nap immediately after. Very tasty.

2008-12-13T22:50:00.001-05:00

Pork Tenderloin with Dijon Marsala sauce

2 pork tenderloins
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, minced
1 cup Marsala wine
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 cup heavy cream (I used half and half)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat pork tenderloins generously with mustard. Oil a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Arrange tenderloins in pan, and brown the meat. Turn to brown evenly. Transfer meat to prepared baking dish.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Turn, and continue cooking for 20 minutes, or until desired doneness.
Meanwhile, melt butter over medium heat in the same pan used to cook the pork. Cook shallots in butter until soft. Stir in Marsala, mustard, and cream, and cook until volume of liquid is reduced by half.
Slice pork, and place on a serving dish. Spoon sauce over meat, and serve.

2008-11-19T22:12:00.002-05:00

Slow Cooker Chicken Parisienne

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
paprika to taste
1 onion, sliced
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (4.5 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Sprinkle chicken breasts lightly with salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. Place in slow cooker.
In a mixing bowl, combine the wine, condensed soup, and mushrooms. In another bowl, mix together sour cream and flour. Stir sour cream mixture into the mushrooms and wine. Pour over chicken in slow cooker. Sprinkle with additional paprika, if desired.
Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours.

I made this as a 'bon voyage' meal for TJ and Alycia, a couple days before they left for their Roman holiday. I made the chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, and broccoli, and took it over to their house, where we ate on the futon watching the Office, and then packed. Alycia thought the 'skirts reaching below the knee must be worn' rule for churches in Italy meant that she must wear skirts...

2008-11-12T22:50:00.002-05:00

Morning Glory muffins

1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated carrots
1 apple - peeled, cored, and chopped
1 egg
2 egg whites
1/2 cup apple butter
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly oil 18 muffin cups, or coat with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, apple butter, applesauce and vanilla.
In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in carrots, apples and raisins. Stir in apple butter mixture until just moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and spring back when lightly pressed.

2008-11-09T22:58:00.003-05:00

Peanut Butter Soup

8 cups chicken broth
2 cups diced, cooked chicken meat
1 cup peeled and cubed potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup canned whole tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup peanut butter
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

In a large stock pot, combine the broth, chicken, potatoes, and carrots. Bring the soup to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium. Cook for about 10 minutes, till vegetables are tender.
Add zucchini, broccoli, tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Simmer for about 8 minutes.
Add peanut butter, salt, and pepper; stir until peanut butter is fully blended. Simmer for 3 minutes longer.

2008-11-08T23:11:00.001-05:00

Apple Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped apples
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.
In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.
Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.

2008-11-07T13:21:00.003-05:00

Garlic honey chicken

1 tablespoon olive oil
10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons ketchup
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple tidbits, drained with juice reserved
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook chicken thighs just until evenly browned on all sides. Place thighs in a slow cooker.
In a bowl, mix honey, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, ginger, and reserved pineapple juice. Pour into the slow cooker.
Cover, and cook 4 hours on High. Stir in pineapple tidbits just before serving.
Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Remove thighs from slow cooker. Blend the cornstarch mixture into remaining sauce in the slow cooker to thicken. Serve sauce over the chicken.

2008-10-30T14:30:00.002-04:00

Apple Crisp

1o-ish apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 T lemon juice
1 T vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1 dash nutmeg
1/2 C cider (or water)
1 box white/yellow cake mix
1/2 C brown sugar
3/4 C oats
1/2 C butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, toss the apple slices with the lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spread apple slices evenly in a 13x9 pan. Pour the cider or water over the apples (this can be ommitted). You could also add caramel ice cream topping here.

2. In a mixing bowl, mix together cake mix, brown sugar and oats. Slowly pour the butter, mixing, until you have a moist, crumbly 'dough'. Spread the mixture over the apples. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until crust is browning. (I put foil on for the second half of baking).

Another volume in the Apple Chronicles. We had a pizza party at our weekly radio show and since I didn't want to make pie, but I did want to use as many apples as possible, I decided to experiment in making apple crisp (which I think is better than pie, anyway).

2008-10-30T12:39:00.002-04:00

Apple Spice Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups apple - peeled, cored, and chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins or dates

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8x4 inch loaf pan. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, egg and oil. stir in the sifted ingredients. fold in the apples, nuts and raisins.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean

Since I went a little overboard on my recent trip to the orchard and now have enough apples to put a pie on every windowsill in the country, I've been trying out some new apple recipes (A girl can only eat so much applesauce, ya know?) I made this fo rmy Monday night Church group and I was pleased with the outcome. Very easy, very moist and very yummy when served warm. I doubled the recipe and put it an extra egg, and baked it in two loaf pans.

2008-10-27T16:03:00.007-04:00

Cauliflower Soup

2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup broccoli, chopped
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes and cook 5 minutes more. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in cauliflower, cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
Puree in batches in a blender or food processor, or in the pot using an immersion blender. Return to low heat and stir in milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and sherry. Heat through. Add cheese and stir until melted.

This is for real my new favorite soup! 'Bloom', our local high-end grocery store, had cauliflower and broccoli on super sale this week and, incapable of turning down a deal as I am, I of course bought copious amounts of the vegetables. But this soup was so easy, and unlike most super-fattening cream soups, this one gets it's consistency from the potatoes, and therefore is a healthier option. My mom and I cooked this up and Cody joined us for dinner- even he liked it, and that's saying a lot (this kid is a major vegetable hater). My parents called me from the road today to say "we didn't really get to talk about the soup, but we both thought it was really good!" This is a toe-warming soup, and goodness knows that this time of year my toes could use some serious heat.

2008-10-23T18:07:00.001-04:00

Autumn Casserole

1 lb. sausage--cooked and drained
3-4 apples--sliced and chopped into fine pieces
1/2 red onion
1 acorn squash--halved
1 box Stove Top stuffing (I made my own- see below)

Place the two pieces of squash face down on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until tender. Scoop out the insides and add butter, salt and brown sugar to taste, and mix well. Mix together sausage, apple, onion, and squash and empty the mixture into a casserole dish. Layer the stuffing on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the stuffing is browning.

Um what could I possibly love more than apples, onions and squash- together?! This dish just screams scarecrows and spiderweds to me. I love the herb-y stuffing with the sweet apples and rich squash. It's just a jumble of really great flavors and it makes me feel like I'm sitting in a giant pile of leaves while I'm eating. Perfect.

Cornbread Stuffing

1 (16 ounce) package dry corn bread mix
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 small onion
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons dried sage
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the dry corn bread mix according to package directions. Cool and crumble.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the celery and onion until soft.
In a large bowl, combine the celery, onions, 3 cups crumbled corn bread, eggs, chicken stock, sage and salt and pepper to taste; mix well.
Place into prepared dish and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

2008-10-21T21:59:00.005-04:00

Cabbage Rolls

8 large cabbage leaves
1 lb ground beef
1 cup cooked rice
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can (10.75 oz) tomato soup

Cook cabbage leaves in boiling salted water until soft; drain. Mix next 6 ingredients and add 2 T of the soup. Divide mixture among the leaves. Roll; secure with toothpicks if needed. Place in a skillet and pour the remaining soup over the leaves, Cover; cook over low heat 40 minutes or until meat is cooked through. Stir often, spooning the sauce over the cabbage rolls.

I realize a name like 'Cabbage Rolls' doesn't exactly conjure up an image of gourmet cooking, but I actually really like these. This was another recipe out my sweet nunnery cookbook, and I gotta say, these ladies of the cloth are 2 for 2.

2008-10-12T12:07:00.001-04:00

Pumpkin Bread

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
3 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

1. In a mixing bowl, dream butter and sugar. Add eggs; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture just until moistened. Stir in pumpkin. Pour into two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until bread tests done.

Applesauce

3 to 4 lbs of peeled, cored, and quartered apples. (Make sure you use a good cooking apple like Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Fuji, Jonathan, Mcintosh, or Gravenstein.)
2 T lemon juice
1 T cinnamon
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar (to taste)
up to 1/2 cup of white sugar (to taste)
pinch of nutmeg
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Put all ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat. Blend to desired consistency with a hand mixer.

Recently, I had a rare Thursday night off of work, and to celebrate, I had people over for fall-things and the Office. Well my tv broke and so we missed the first 5, crucial minutes of the show, but we did enjoy some darn good pumpkin bread. For serious, this stuff was bank. Nothing I love more than a good, moist loaf cake. And the applesauce? Easy as pie (far easier, actually. Pie is hard!)

2008-10-08T21:27:00.004-04:00

Blondies

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a separate bowl, and mix in the brown sugar until blended. Let cool slightly. Mix in the egg and vanilla and blend well. Add dry ingredients and mix. Spread in a 8x8 pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

I made these blondies for one of my favorite fair-haired friends for her birthday. Blondies are one of my all-time favorite sweets. Saga's best dessert was an imitation blondie, which they called 'cookie bars' but this here's the real deal. For a great alternative to brownies or cookies
(or maybe when you can't decide between the two?), this is a fabulous compromise.

2008-10-07T21:03:00.007-04:00

Pizza that says you care

-1 tube pizza dough
-1 can pizza sauce
-8 oz mozzarella cheese
-1/3 red onion, chopped
-4 cloves garlic, diced
-1 can mushrooms
-1/2 pound chicken breast
-1/3 cup pineapple chunks

Cut chicken into chunks. Marinade in 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 T soy sauce, and 1/3 cup barbecue sauce for at least 30 minutes. Cook in a frying pan and set aside. Saute garlic and onion in frying pan. Top pizza dough with all toppings and cover with cheese. Bake according to directions on the pizza crust tube.

There are few things I love more than homemade pizza, partially because it's so simple, and you can use whatever you have. I mostly am just posting this because the pizza looked hilarious. See, I had left the tube of pizza dough in my car for a couple of hot hourse, and it exploded out of its cardboard constraints. So, when it came time to make my pizza and I pulled the dough out, it was in a funky formation and I couldn't roll it out like a normal pizza. Thus, heart pizza! Romantic, eh?

2008-09-29T23:46:00.004-04:00

Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry

4 (4 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup sliced celery (1/2 inch pieces)
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1 cup water
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules

Cut chicken into 1/2-in. strips; place in a resealable plastic bag. Add cornstarch and toss to coat. Combine soy sauce, ginger and garlic powder; add to bag and shake well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of oil; stir-fry chicken until no longer pink, about 3-5 minutes. Remove and keep warm. Add remaining oil; stir- fry broccoli, celery, carrots and onion for 4-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add water and bouillon. Return chicken to pan. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Pineapple Sticky Rice
Prepare rice as directed (basmati rice is ideal but I used white rice, too, and it's fine), except substitute half of the water with pineapple juice. After the rice is cooked, stir in honey and pineapple chunks, and salt to taste.

As stir-fry goes, this was pretty good. I love ginger, and my obsession with sticky rice is borederline obscene. I first had mango sticky rice at a buddhist temple in San Francisco and I almost converted on the spot, it was so good. This isn't quite the same religious experience, but it's still pretty good. The sweet rice with flavorful stir-fry is one of my fave combos.

2008-09-25T15:53:00.003-04:00

This past weekend found me in a world of panic. Somehow I've been accumulating piles of meat in my freezer. When it comes to cooking, my ambitions are lofty, but by the time I get home after work, all I want to do is immediately enjoy my dinner. Inevitably, despite mounds of good intentions, I find myself consuming Ramen, cereal, or, on a particularly good day, some variation of the chicken-and-white-sauce-over-pasta (IF I've had enough foresight to leave some chicken out to thaw- but not so much foresight that it's gone bad by the time I get around to using it). The other significant factor contributing to this overhual of dead animal is my inability to pass up a good deal and my fear that chicken will never again drop below $4 a pound and if I don't buy up huge quantities while it's available, I won't be able to afford it and I'll be stuck eating Ramen or cereal for the rest of my days (is this ironic?).

So Saturday found me looking at something like 12 pounds of ground beef and I'd had enough. "That's it!" I exclaimed (to myself, alone in my apartment). "I'm going to damn do something with this ground beef!" I took stock of all the food I had on hand that was in danger of going bad soon, and what I came up with was some variation of Shepherd's Pie, which I will be calling

Cowboy's Casserole (because seriously, are shepherds even a thing anymore?)

1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb sausage
3 potatoes, cubed
1/2 head cabbage, slice
1 can fresh kernel corn, drained
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 can mushroom soup
1/2 C sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

The key here is to SEASON THE MEAT. I cannot overemphasize this point (well I could, of course. I could say 'seasoning this meat is more important than the name you give your first-born'. I think we can all agree that would be a bit of an exaggeration). But still, if your ground beef tastes like ground beef, then your dinner will taste like you are poor.

So season the ground beef with salt, pepper, cumin (my favorite spice), Worcester Sauce and some italian seasoning, mix it with the sausage, and brown it in a frying pan. Dump all the veggies in a (big) bowl, pour in the soup and sour cream, and gave it a good mixing. Spread the mixture (which at this point will be five times larger than you originally intended) in a 13x9 casserole dish, cover it with grated cheese, and stick it in the oven for 45 minutes-1 hour.

I've been eating this stuff all week and I've still barely made a dent, but I have to say that I really enjoy it. It's perfect for those cooler days, now that we're actually experiencing them down here in the South. It's simple, cheap, and copious. Everything a cowboy could want :)

2008-09-24T21:41:00.005-04:00

Tomato Potato Soup (catchy, right?)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
2 onions, chopped
4 cups peeled, cubed potatoes
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 (14.5 ounce) can tomatoes
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, and cook the onions until tender. Mix in the potatoes, celery, carrots, and garlic. Season with Italian seasoning. Pour in milk, gradually stir in cornstarch, and bring to a boil. Mix in tomatoes, broth, and tomato paste. Return to boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

I made this soup a while back when I was in my vegetable soup phase, but hadn't gotten around to posting it quite yet. One of the people who reviewed this recipe was full of happy exclamations for it, one of them being "so fibrous!" which I found rather funny. Unfortunately, one thing I didn't find this recipe was 'delicious', but keep in mind that I'm not a huge fan of tomato soups to begin with (which I suppose raises the question of what I was thinking in making a tomato soup to begin with, but hey, I'm branching out, okay?) It was certainly a tolerable dish, and I'm sure there are people out there who could make grand improvements on this soup, but I'll stick to my Black Bean Veggie soup (which I recently made my third pot of), thank you very much.

2008-09-23T20:28:00.005-04:00

I'm calling this one 'Envelope Chicken'.

Ingredients

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
1 tablespoon minced onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons milk
1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and 1 T butter until smooth. Add the chicken, onion, salt, pepper, and milk and mix well.
2. Separate crescent dough into 4 rectangles (smush the edges together so that there's no break). Spoon 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture into the center of each rectangle. Pull the four corners of the dough together and twist firmly; pinch edges to seal.
3. Place sandwiches on cookie sheet, and brush with melted butter. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

This is sort of a personal-pizza variation on chicken pot pie, especially since I added a handful of frozen mixed veggies to the cream cheese mixture. But it is yummy and incredibly filling! I served it with flavored rice and Cabbage and Bacon, a personal favorite (cut bacon into small pieces and fry them in a frying pan on low heat. Remove them, then add water to the pan, fill it with sliced cabbage, cover it, and steam until it's mushy enough for your tastes. Add the bacon back in. Veggies fried in bacon fat- what more could you want?).

I made this for TJ and Alycia tonight, to lure TJ and his man-handiness to my apartment so that he could hang my newly acquired shelf for me. It might be a little crooked but nothing has tumbled off the end quite yet, so we'll call it close enough. We all enjoyed the meal, followed by cookies and black-and-white racial harmony cake with coffee. Nothing like a political statement disguised as confectionery delights, I always say.

2008-09-12T19:24:00.002-04:00

My latest issue of Cooking Light featured a spotlight on chili, with some of the highlights from the Atlanta Chili Cook-Off (which you better believe I'll be attending next year). I made a pot the other night, and while it might not surpass Matt's Cheeseburger Bacon Chili (one of my all-time favorite dishes), it certainly rivals it.

Springfield Chili
-1 bacon slice, finely chopped
-2 1/4 cups finely chopped onion
-3 garlic cloves, minced
-1 lb ground turkey
-1/2 lb ground sirloin
-1 12oz can beer
-2 T barbecue sauce
-3 T chili powder
-1 t Worcestershire sauce
-1/2 t salt
1/2 t cumin
-1 (14.5 ox) can diced tomatoes, undrained
-1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
-1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
-1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Cook bacon in pot over medium heat or until browned. Stir in 2 cups onion (reserving 1/4 cup); cover and cook until onion is tender (about 5 minutes). Uncover and stir in garlic; cook for 1 minute.

Increase heat to medium-high; add turkey and sirloin to pan. Cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add beer, cook until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup (about 7 minutes). Stir in chili powder and next 5 ingredients (through tomato sauce). Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in beans; cook 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Top each bowl with remaining onions and cheese. Makes 6 servings.

I would serve this with cornbread (there's that southern flair again). I cooked some rice and ate it with my chili to stretch it a little; it was deee-vine, truly. I might say that Yeungling light was not the optimal beer; it'd be interesting to experiment.

2008-09-10T22:43:00.002-04:00

August turned out to be a busy month for me; I visited Atlanta twice (once for Margaret's wedding) and my brothers came in town for a long weekend, which we spent camping in northern Georgia. I didn't do terribly much cooking; mostly just stuff to get me from weekend to weekend, though Margaret and I did make some amazing black bean and corn dip, along with chicken kabobs on the grill; I'll have to share those recipes at some point.

But I'm back at home now, at least for the next little while, and that means I'm pulling the pots and pans back out.

Earlier in the summer, I picked up a great cookbook at a garage sale for a mere quarter: Recipes from the Poor Clare Nuns of the Holy Name Federation. Now, I promise it's not just my Catholic bias- this collection is a real gem. My first meal attempt was a simple casserole:

Chicken and Cheese Casserole:
-3 beaten eggs
-1 can cheedar cheese soup (I used cream of chicken)
-1 1/2 cup milk
-6 slices buttered bread (I used cornbread- Southern flair, you know?)
-8 oz sharp cheese (cheddar), sliced
-3/4 lb chicken, cooked and cubed (or shredded)

Mix together eggs, soup and milk. Place 2 buttered slices of bread at bottom of a greased 2-quart casserole. Lay slice of cheese on each, then half the chicken. Add salt and pepper. Make another later of bread, cheese and chicken, then top with remaining bread and cheese. Pour the soup/egg mixture over top. Bake at 350 about 40 minutes or until brown and puffy.

The original recipe calls for shrimp, and says tuna can be substituted as well. This made a nice little meal, and great for leftovers (but isn't everything?)

2008-08-05T10:15:00.002-04:00

Rumspringa Gemelli

-1 lb Gemelli pasta

-1 lb ground turkey

-1 onion, sliced

-5 cloves garlic, minced

-1/2 C white wine

-1/2 C cream

-2 oz cream cheese

-1/2 C chicken broth

-herbs

-1 head broccoli

Brown the turkey in a frying pan, and when done, remove the turkey, leavings the drippings. This is the base for your sauce. Saute the garlic and onions in the grease until the onion is clear. On low-medium heat, add the white wine, cream, cream cheese, stirring each in slowly. Let this simmer, and slowly add the chicken broth, stirring all the while. Add in any herbs you like (in our case, it was rosemary and thyme given to me by a friend, and basil from my little basil plant, Gianni- who is growing up quite nicely!) In the meantime, steam the broccoli or spinach (or just microwave it in a bowl with a little water) and set aside. Once your sauce is at its desired consistency (and you can totally experiment with my portions, which are pretty much made up anyway), add the meat back and the broccoli and let the whole thing simmer on low. Cook the pasta until al dente (it takes longer because it's wound tightly, but it will also be firmer when done than your average spaghetti noodle). You can either pour the meat sauce over the noodles and toss, like we did, or serve them separately. We ate this with some pumpernickel bread and- you guessed it- more dip! Why can't dip be a meal? (2 points if you get this reference).

This was mine and Margaret's Sunday afternoon activity- aka 'What's in The Kitchen? Let's throw it in a pot and see what happens.' In my opinion, pasta is the ultimate 'experiement', whether you're making a red sauce, white sauce, or just drizzling olive oil over some noodles. There is no right or wrong, and you can use whatever you have on hand- sometimes the results are so-so, but other times (especially when you're starving, as we happened to be), you happen upon a really fantastic dish. The more your experiment, the more you learn about proportions and what things taste good together. This simple meal was definitely a winner with us, so much so that we named it. Now we'll always have our 'Rumspringa Gemelli' (don't ask) to commemerate the time we spent together and this stage of life we're embarking upon.

2008-08-02T22:51:00.005-04:00

Good 'ol Southern Comfort

The winds from Atlanta blew a special treat my way this weekend in the form of one Margaret Jago, my dear friend and ex-roommate (one of her favorite terms). We share an intense love for food (though hers tends toward the dill pickle and diet coke side of things, while mine favors all things butter and chocolate), so I knew the weekend would bring another of Margaret's favorite words- FULL. And so it was. On Saturday, we tried to see Moliere's 'Miser' put on by Shakespeare in the Park, but Mother Nature had other plans, and, with a terrific summer storm that commenced half an hour before curtain call, she sent us high-tailing back to dry ground (poor Alycia and TJ got left out in the rain while Margaret and I watched the apocalyptic events from the shelter of my car, but that's a story for another time). So we took our little party back to my apartment and had a picnic on the floor. I made Honey Beer bread and spinach dip, which we enjoyed with TJ and Alycia's pasta salad, raw broccoli, grapes (on sale at Publix), and Winking Owl Cab Sav (thank you Aldi's!) We stuffed ourself to contentment and beyond, and let our food settle while we played a rousing game of Taboo. Not exactly what we planned, but perhaps a good sight better.

Honey Beer Bread
-3 C flour (Add more if necessary)
-1 1/2 t salt
-4 1/2 t baking powder
-1/3 C brown sugar
-12 oz beer (still rocking the Sam Adams Black- can't beat it)
-1/4 C honey

Mix the dry ingredients, then add the beer and honey and mix well. Pour into a greased loaf pan, and spread butter and honey on the top if you wish. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

Spinach Dip
-8 oz (1 bar) cream cheese)
-1 C sour cream
-1/2 onion, finely chopped
-5 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 lb spinach, chopped
-seasonings- to taste (salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, herbs)

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil, add spinach. In a mixing bowl, mix together sour cream and cream cheese (best if it's softened), then add in the spinach mixture. Stir in the seasonings and refrigerate for at least an hour. The garlic is really what makes this dip, so don't be afraid to really go to town. This is amazing with the sweet beer bread, but would be great with any type of cracker or bread (Wheat thins come to mind).

2008-08-01T19:40:00.002-04:00

In thanks for all Velveeta has done

So, I've been feasting all week on my well-prepared left-overs of Southwestern Beef and Veggie Bake and Black Bean Soup, but the reserves ran out today and so I had to scrounge up some dinner. By the time I got home after staying (very) late at work, the spirit of Friday left me too lazy to make any real attempt at cooking, so I made one of my favorite doctored quickies. Velveeta Cheese and Shells is one of my go-to comfort foods, but I can't quite shake the fact that I'm consuming starch and orange chemicals, so to ease my guilty conscience, and make it a little heartier, I like to add whatever I have around- my favorite is tomatoes and/or salsa. Other options are broccoli, onion, spinach, any little bit of leftover meat you might have sitting around (taco meat is great), beans, and the list goes on. And, as always, a little garlic can improve any dish that doesn't call for chocolate (same for fresh or dried herbs). So simple, but it's amazing what 2 minutes can do to take a dish from spaghettio's to gourmet.

2008-07-27T19:23:00.005-04:00

Black Bean Vegetable Soup
-1 tablespoon vegetable oil
-1 onion, chopped
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-2 carrots, chopped
-3 teaspoons chili powder
-1-2 teaspoon ground cumin
-2-3 cups chicken stock
-2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
-1 (8.75 ounce) can whole kernel corn
-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
-1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; cook onion, garlic, and carrots, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion is softened. Add chili powder and cumin; cook, stirring, for 1 minutes. Add stock, 1 can of the beans, corn, and pepper; bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, puree together tomatoes and remaining can of beans; add to pot. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 to 15 minuets or until carrots are tender.

This soup is cramazing! I stewed it up on a Sunday night so that I could have leftovers throughout the week. It's great with some cheddar cheese sprinkled on top, and crackers- or tortilla chips! It reminds me of a cross between Tortilla soup and vegetarian chili. If you wanted to stretch it, you could make a cheese quesadilla to go alongside. Easy, healthy and delicious! Can't go wrong.

2008-07-26T18:00:00.006-04:00

Beer Bread

-3 Cups all-purpose flour
-1 T baking powder
-1 t salt
-2 T sugar
-1 C shredded cheddar cheese
-12 oz beer (1 bottle)
-1/4 C butter, melted

Add any herbs you want- basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, dill, chives, garlic (use 1 t dried, 1 T fresh). Mix all the ingredients together except the butter. Spread the dough into a greased bread pan, and brush half the butter (2 T) over top. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Brush the rest of the butter over top. Let cool for 10 minutes or so and ENJOY.

This recipe was inspired by my dinner treat- a Sam Adams Black (yay!) with my chicken salad. I had about half my beer left and decided to put it to work, and HO-LY COW why is this stuff not better known?! I have never had beer bread before but it is PHENOMENAL! Crusty on top, chewy and spongy on the inside and just amazing... it would be interesting to see what other beers do, particularly something light and/or sweet. This is about the most bang for your buck (both monetarily and temporally) that you can get.
Note: If you make an herb-ier version of the bread, it's fantastic with a sweet cream cheese, like raspberry- the hazlenut cream cheese from Panera comes to mind. If you go with a sweeter version, serve with a garlic-herb cream cheese. The combination of sweet with herb is really great.

2008-07-25T19:33:00.000-04:00

Fruit Smoothie

I am a creature of habit. There's nothing I love more than finding something that really works, perfecting it, and running with it. My latest breakfast thing is a fruit smoothie. It took a good while until I could made a smoothie worth drinking, but it was totally worth the time and effort. This is the best breakfast trend I've ever been on. Here's what I use

-3 medium strawberries, frozen (I buy a big frozen bag at Costco)
-1 medium banana, frozen (I buy bananas, cut them into small chunks, put them in a ziploc, and stick them in the freezer)
-1/2 C milk (varies depending on desired consistency)
-4-8 oz yogurt of any kind (my favorite is blackberry! I also like raspberry. Again, the amount depends on the consistency you're going for. Experiment!)
-1 t vanilla
-1 T flax seed (for nutritional purposes- it does change the taste and consistency a bit, so leave it out if you don't care for it)
-1 T sugar- optional- it's good without, too (I use sweetener)

Throw it all in a blender and go to town! I often make the smoothie when I get up in the morning, pour it in a travel mug, stick it in the freezer, then grab it on my way out the door. This gives it a half hour or so (depending on how late I woke up) to chill out and just makes it a little more slushie like. This is a completely mold-able recipe, but I've got a pretty good thing going here.

2008-07-24T22:24:00.003-04:00

Southwestern Beef and Veggie Bake

Ingredients:
-1 lb ground beef
-1 small onion, chopped
-2-3 t chili powder
-1-2 t cumin
-1/4 t cayenne pepper
-2 T butter
-3 T flour

-1/2 C chicken or beef broth
-1-2 C chopped peppers
-1 16oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
-1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
-1 can whole kernel corn, drained
-1 can diced tomatoes
-1 4oz can green chilies
-1 tube refrigerated cornbread sticks (I used a cornbread mix package)

In a large skillet, brown meat and seasonings (you can use a package taco seasoning in place of the herbs) and onion. Add flour, stir until well blended (add more flour if necessary). Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat, add beans and veggies. Pour into a 13x9 baking pan. Pour cornbread mix over top. Bake uncovered, 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until cornbread is lightly browned. (In my opinion, it is imperative that the cornbread be sweet- either use a sweet package, or add sugar/honey to your batter)

To start the meal out, I made a little guacamole and it turned out really well. I used 1 avocado, mashed, then mixed in a tsp of lime juice, a minced clove of garlic, a few shakes of cumin, salt and pepper, and half a chopped tomato and maybe a 1/4 C of finely chopped onion. Really good. Keep in mind this doesn't make a lot- TJ pretty much devoured the whole thing in the time it took Alycia and I to do our "hiiii! you look greeeeat!" hug-hug kiss-kiss greeting. It's easy to double.

I made this meal to celebrate Alycia being done with her summer class, and it was delicious. This recipe is courtesy of Patty, our cook at Pi Phi, and I have to admit that I did not do her justice, but it was a good imitation of the real thing. It's good leftovers, and great served over chips with cheese melted on top, and salsa. Gourmet Pi Phi nachos, anyone?

2008-07-22T19:19:00.006-04:00

Mocha Smoothie

One thing about South Carolina is that it's hot. Extremely hot. All the talk you hear about the oppressive humidity is, I'm discovering, not a joke. In a climate like this, cool, refreshing treats are an absolute necessity, and this is one of my favorites. Quick, cheap, easy, and relatively good (or at least not bad!) for you.

Ingredients:
1 cup fat-free milk
1 medium banana, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch slices, and frozen
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar or honey (I use sweetener)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant coffee crystals
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup small ice cubes or crushed ice

In a blender combine milk, banana, sugar, cocoa powder, coffee crystals, and vanilla. Cover and blend until smooth. Add ice cubes. Cover and blend until nearly smooth. (I'll often add a little hazlenut creamer or something like that, to change up the flavor- you could do pretty much anything here).

Makes 2 servings

2008-07-20T22:29:00.002-04:00

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (makes 24)
1 cup flour (spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper, foil, or silicone mats

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and set the rack on the lower and upper thirds of the oven.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar until smooth. Mix in the brown sugar, then the egg, applesauce, and vanilla.
4. Stir in the dry ingredients, then the oats and raisins.
5. Drop the batter by rounded tablespoons 2-inches apart on the baking sheets and use a fork to gently flatten the dough.
6. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. Take them out of the oven as soon as they look slightly blond and are no longer wet on the top. Once cool, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

Nobody likes crunchy cookies. You say you do, but trust me, you don't. What brings more comfort to the stomach and the soul (we won't comment its effects on the hips) than a warm chewy cookie with a cold glass of milk? And that's what you get here- a cookie that stretches when you bend it instead of breaks in two. Save a little bit of the dough and put it in the freezer to enjoy as a treat later. The only thing better than cookies fresh out of the oven is cookie dough from the icebox.

2008-07-18T22:34:00.002-04:00

Chickpea Soup with Garam Masala and Cilantro

-2 16-ounce cans chickpeas, drained
-1 14-ounce can light coconut milk
-1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
-1/2 cup prepared salsa
-1 1/2 tsps. garam masala*
-1 tsp. ground ginger
-2 Tbs. frozen apple juice concentrate
-1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves
-Garnishes: 1/4 cup plain yogurt and 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Purée all ingredients except garnishes in a blender until smooth. Pour into a large saucepan or Dutch oven, and bring to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered and stirring frequently, to blend flavors, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve, garnishing each portion with 1 Tb. of yogurt and 1 Tb. of green onions. Serves 4 *Garam masala is a blend of many Indian spices (national brands include McCormick and Spice Islands).

This is my first attempt at 'bean dishes' and I'm feeling very much like my brother. At first I was extremely wary of this stuff (especially since I added spinach, which probably wasn't a great change on my part as not only did it give it a bit of a weird flavor, but it turned the whole thing an odd shade of green) but it really grew on me. The best thing you can do for this soup is let it sit for a couple days in the fridge. This give the flavors time to blend, and I promise you this isn't poetic crap, it's the truth- this soup is MUCH better on day 3. Add some water or broth every time you heat up the leftovers. I tore up some pumpernickel bread and mixed it in, which was really good, and gave it a bit more consistency. Not bad for a first try.

2008-07-15T22:30:00.001-04:00

Brown Sugar Fridge cookies
-1 C brown sugar
-1 C butter
-1 t vanilla
-1 large egg
-3 cups all-purpose flour
-1 ½ t cinnamon
-½ t baking soda
-½ t salt
-1/3 C chocolate chips

1. Beat brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and egg in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed or mix with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients except chips. Stir in chips.
2. Refrigerate 2 hours
3. Heat oven to 375 and bake 6-8 minutes or until light brown.

2008-07-13T22:31:00.004-04:00

Indonesian Peanut Chicken

-3-3½ pounds cut up broiler-fryer chicken
-3/4 t salt
-½ t pepper
-2 T vegetable oil
-1 medium onion, chipped (½ C)
-1/3 C peanut butter
-1/4 C chili sauce
-½ t cayenne pepper
-1 C water
-1/4 C chopped salted peanuts
-1/4 C chopped red bell pepper

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper
2. Heat oil in 12-in skillet over med heat. Cook chicken in oil about 15 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides. Cover and cook over low heat about 20 minutes or until juice is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Remove chicken with tongs.
3. Drain all but 1 T drippings from skillet; heat over med heat. Cook onion in drippings, stirring occasionally, until tender; reduce heat. Stir in peanut butter, chili sauce, and red pepper. Gradually stir in water, stirring constantly, until peanut butter is melted.
4. Add chicken. Spoon sauce over chicken. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 5 minutes, spooning sauce frequently over chicken, until sauce is slightly thickened. Serve sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with peanuts and red bell pepper. Served over chinese noodles.

Yum, I made this dish on a relaxing Sunday night, and I really liked it. The recipe was easy to half, and I still had enough for 4 or 5 meals. A great way to employ that huge supply of Ramen you're storing beneath the sink.

2008-07-06T22:35:00.004-04:00

Chicken Paprikash

-24 oz. (1.5 lbs) boneless skinless chicken breasts
-12 oz. sour cream
-48 oz. chicken broth
-1 onion
-3-4 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
-2 tablespoon garlic
-1 tablespoon salt
-1 teaspoon ground black pepper
-1/2 teaspoon ginger
-2 bay leaves
-corn starch (or preferably potato starch, if you have access to a health food store)
-olive oil

Make spaetzel; put in a bowl. Alternatively, you can buy spaetzel from the store, or prepare any type of noodles you prefer.

Chop up the chicken breasts into small pieces. Put the chicken and garlic in a pot; sautee in olive oil. Chop up the onion into small pieces. Put the onions and some chicken broth into the pot. For now, use just enough broth to keep everything submerged, but don't flood it. You should have some broth left over (maybe around 16 ounces); the remaining broth will be used below. Stir in the other spices (paprika, salt, black pepper, ginger, bay leaves). Simmer to let the chicken and onions cook thoroughly. When the chicken and onions are fully cooked, add the starch as a thickening agent, by mixing it into the remaining broth and pouring it into the pot. (If you're out of broth, use water; but ideally you will have exactly enough broth for this.) Remove from heat and let it thicken. Finally, mix in the sour cream, and it's ready to serve over spaetzel.

Spaetzel

-1/2 cup milk
-1 1/2 cups flour (Sapphire brand is preferred)
-3 eggs

Get a pot of water going at a high boil. Mix the milk, flour, and eggs in a bowl. The resulting batter should be a little thicker than Duncan Hines cake mix: a tiny bit stiff, but definitely not "dough". With a spoon, drop small blobs of batter into the boiling water, and let boil for about 20 minutes. Then you may fish out the spaetzel. Be advised that you need to keep the water at a high boil for this to work: the surfaces of the blobs really need to cook as soon as they hit the water. Then they magically don't stick together. Also be advised that the blobs will expand as they cook, so try not to make them very large. One way or another, you'll probably have to chop them up with a spatula when you're done anyway.

I made this when my parents were visiting for the 4th of July and we really enjoyed it. The spaetzel was a disaster- it burned (you could say it had a 'rich, smoky flavor') and a lot of it ended up a mushy mess that had to be drained out. We still ate it (Miller blood is tough). I found a better recipe in my Betty Crocker cookbook that I'll try next time. Or it's good over ramen noodles, which is how I fixed the leftovers the next day :)

2008-06-29T22:40:00.002-04:00

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

-1 1/4 cups sugar
-1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
-2 eggs
-1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 medium bananas)
-1/2 cups of buttermilk
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-3/4 C chocolate chips (or to taste)

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9" x 5" x 3" pan. (Or 2 - 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch pans)
2. Mix together sugar and butter in large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients except nuts and mix until just moistened. Stir in nuts. Pour into pan.
3. Bake 8-inch loaves for about 1 hour or 9-inch loaf 1 hour 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Loosen sides of loaf from pan and remove from pan. Cool completely before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days or refrigerate up to 10 days.

This was a thank-you gift for Alycia for rescuing me from the park after I locked my keys in my car... long, silly story, but let's just say I handed her my spare keys along with a loaf of this stuff so as to avoid future predicaments. Chocolate banana bread is one of my favorite treats, but hard to say no to when it's in front of you, so bake at your own risk- or make sure you have a willing recipient!

2008-06-24T22:32:00.004-04:00

Cornbread Chicken Pot Pie

-1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Cream of Chicken Soup
-1 can (about 8 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
-2 cups cubed cooked chicken OR turkey
-1 pkg. (8 1/2 ounces) corn muffin mix
-3/4 cup milk
-1 egg
-1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Heat the oven to 400̊F. Stir the soup, corn and chicken in a 9-inch pie plate.
2. Stir the muffin mix, milk and egg with a fork in a small bowl until the ingredients are mixed. Spoon over the chicken mixture.
3. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cornbread is golden. Sprinkle with the cheese. Serves: 4

This is the first meal I hosted in my new little abode, a meal I shared with TJ and Alycia, eaten sitting on my couch with our plates balanced on our knees. Very cozy, and a yummy- and simple- Southern dish. Fresh corn would be a great addition- I also added some frozen veggies.

2008-06-24T19:39:00.001-04:00

Baker's One Bowl Brownies

4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (or 3 T cocoa + 1 T veggie oil)
3/4 C butter
2 C sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 C flour
1 C chocolate chips

Microwave unsweetened chocolate and butter in large bowl on high 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Stir in sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add flour and nuts; stir until well blended. Spread into greased 13x9 inch pan.

Bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Cool in pan.

2008-05-28T22:44:00.002-04:00

After graduation, I spent three weeks in Hillsdale and one in Monroe, and was able to eat a lot of good food during that time. The YoungLife team made- nay, created- the most phenomenal pizza that has ever touched my lips. Ham, pineapples, artichokes, pesto, sausage, several kinds of cheese, homemade tomato sauce... a special thanks to the Pi Phi house for unknowingly lending us much of their food. Margaret and I experimented with dishes including fish tacos (a recipe from her future mother-in-law), Thai basil ground chicken (a meal we shared with Hallie, Matt, Tony and Evan), more delicious pizza (I accidentally made about 9 times too much sauce the first time, so we had to use it up), bruschetta, and chili dogs (a great meal memory that includes Hannah, Mike, Julia Westblade, and Zach). Natalie visited for a weekend and we cranked out what was, hands-down, the best day of food I've ever experienced. That may not be true, but it is a delicious and peaceful in my mind. We made chicken tikki masala for lunch and shrimp linguine for dinner, when I may or may not have drank something close to an entire bottle of wine, plus some experimental mojitos, by myself. I think we had a taste (pun intended) that day of the lifestyle had by cultures like the Italian, Spanish and Mexican, who are so good at celebrating food, leisure and family in one fell swoop. Zach made his own concoction, a product of 18 cloves of garlic he chopped up without asking and was refused by Natalie and myself when he tried to add it to our dish. This garlic became what he calls Zach's Whiskey Chicken when combined with the leftover chicken and anything he found around the Von Sydow household (mustard, salt, whiskey... along with garlic, pretty much the staples of his diet), and then it sat and marinated in the fridge for, oh, 4 or 5 days, which probably isn't the most hygenic thing in the world but I figure between the alcohol and the heat, it's alright. The only dish I made that I have the recipe for is my last meal in Hillsdale, baked ziti, listed below. It was a good last meal.

Baked Ziti

1 lb italian sausage
1 lb pasta (ziti noodles)
3 cloves garlic
olive oil
1-2 quarts sauce
1 C grated parmesan
2-3 C mozarella

Brown sausage with oil- add sundried tomatoes and garlic. Add parsley, basil and sauce, and simmer. Cook pasta al dente and strain. Add parmesean and half of the mozarella to sauce. Pour sauce and pasta into a baking dish and toss well, sprinkle the rest of the mozarella on top. Place under broiler until cheese bubbles.

2007-10-25T18:08:00.000-04:00

Apple Butter

1 clementine orange, peeled and separated

Peels from 15 large apples, diced

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

¼ cup water

Puree orange segments until smooth. Set aside.

Place apple peels in a saucepan over medium heat with 1 tsp water. Cover and cook 30 minutes.

Add orange puree, brown sugar, vanilla and water, stir well.

Recover and cook 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly.

Add mixture to a food processor and process until smooth.

Place into a clean jar, cover and chill.

2007-09-26T13:39:00.000-04:00

Orange Shimp Fettucinne

12 oz fresh or frozen peeled and deveined shrimp 6 oz dried fettuccine or linguine
1 red or green sweet pepper, cut into 3/4-inch squares
1 T cooking oil
1/2 tsp finely shredded orange peel
2/3 cup orange juice
1 T cornstarch
1 tsp instant chick bouillon granules
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
6 oz frozen pea pods, thawed
2 oranges, peeled and sectioned

1. Thaw shwimp, if frozen. Cook fettuccine for 8 for 10 minutes or till tender but still firm. Drain well; keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook sweet pepper in hot oil for 1 to 2 minutes or till crisp-tender. Remove sweet pepper. Add shrimp to skillet; cook and stir about 2 minutes or till shrimp turn pink. Remove shrimp.
3. Combine orange peel, orange juice, cornstarch, bouillon granules, sesame oil, salt, and ground red pepper; add to skillet. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Return shrimp and sweet pepper to skillet; stir to coat. Gently stir in pea pods and orange sections; heat through. Serve shrimp mixture over fettuccine. Makes 4 main-dish servings.

Tony, Matt, and I cooked this last Saturday (Matt's pick). It was a quick prep, maybe 30 minutes, and DELICIOUS! Yum yum yum. It comfortably fed the three of us (4 is a stretch). I wonder if mandarin oranges would be better? I thought the oranges were a bit overpowering but the boys didn't think so.

2007-08-12T22:02:00.000-04:00

Red Lobster Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 cups Bisquick. baking mix
2/3 cup milk
1 cup cheddar cheese -- shredded
1/4 cup margarine or butter -- melted
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450. Mix baking mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms; beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 min. or until golden brown. Mix margarine and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Serve warm. Makes 10-12 biscuits.

Per serving (excluding unknown items): 177 Calories; 6g Fat (32% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 4mg Cholesterol; 480mg Sodium Food Exchanges: 1 1/2 Starch/Bread; 1 Fat

NOTES : Substitute several cloves of chopped garlic for the garlic powder and let stand in melted butter while preparing biscuits.

Yuuuuum. They're soooo good! Taste just like the real thing. I made these for the Hilgraeve picnic and they were a big hit.

2007-07-28T22:04:00.000-04:00

Mark and I made "bruschetta" (sort of) and bran muffins. for Lara's 'Congratulations-on-finishing-the-BAR-exam' party. For the bruschetta, we split a baguette lengthwise, then cut them into several pieces and oiled them up real good. We sauteed peppers and garlic, then layered the peppers, sliced tomatoes, fresh (AMAZING!) basil and oregano, and parmigiana cheese on the bread, then toasted them in the oven. The herbs were seriously out of this world.

2007-07-14T21:00:00.000-04:00

Fettucine with Shrimp

1 pound linguine or fettucine
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup chopped yellow onions
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 pound crawfish tails (shrimp can be substituted)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Return to the pot and toss with the olive oil and reserved cooking liquid. Cover to keep warm.

In a large saute pan or skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, Essence, salt, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the white wine and cook over high heat until nearly all evaporated. Add the cream lemon juice and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced. Add the crawfish tails and cook, stirring, to warm through. Add the onions and parsley and cook for 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat with the sauce. Cook until the pasta is warmed through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add 1/2 cup of the cheese.
Turn out into a serving bowl and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Serve.

[Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning: 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika 2 tablespoons salt 2 tablespoons garlic powder 1 tablespoon black pepper 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Yield: 2/3 cup]

I did not have the spices to make Essence, so that was out, nor did I have any cayenne or parsley, so just threw in a bunch of basil, and used lime juice instead of lemon juice (had none). I also didn't use any onions. Added a large zuchini, grated, just because I like it. Used the same Pinot Grigio (as last meal) for the sauce, and bought a 1 lb bag of 100-200 count shrimp from Korger ($5.99) - the pasta to shrimp proportion was perfect. The whole thing was very good; I really liked it. Served it with a deliiiicious loaf of bread which Vanessa tore into chunks and we broiled in the overn (at 400) for a few minutes, and a bowl of olive oil for dipping. YUM. No complaints about how this turned out except I would have liked to try it with the spices it actually called for.

2007-07-13T20:36:00.000-04:00

Baked Wrapped Tilapia

Topping:
1-inch cube fresh gingerroot, finely chopped or grated
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped or grated
2 green onions (green part only), finely chopped
Fresh chile to taste
1 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 tbsp grapeseed (or safflower) oil
Dash of toasted sesame oil
Dash of soy sauce
Dash of fish sauce
4 tsp dark maple syrup
Tilapia:
4 fillets (4 oz each) fresh tilapia (or other firm-fleshed whitefish)
4 large banana leaves (or unbleached parchment paper)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine all topping ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place afillet on each banana leaf and divide topping evenly among them, spreading it over the top. Fold each banana leaf over to form a packet around each fillet and seal the edge of each packet with a small piece of aluminum foil, crimping it tightly. Place on a baking sheet and bake 25 to 30 minutes. Nutritional analysis per serving: 213 calories, 10 g fat (1.5 g saturated), 7 g carbohydrates, 22 g protein, trace fiber. Makes 4 servings.

Well this is sort of a 'guest appearance', if you will. Matt made this on Friday night and it was so good, I wanted to remember it. I think baking it in the pouch makes the flavor totally soak through and so this whole fillet was totally seasoned. Sweet, and totally delicious. The recipe, since Matt made it, was followed pretty much down to each pinch and dash (very unlike my style).

2007-07-12T21:50:00.000-04:00

Fettucnine ala... Katerina?
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
5 large garlic cloves, finely minced
1 large zucchini
10 oz white mushrooms, sliced
1 lb chicken, cooked and sliced into thin strips
4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 teaspoons anchovy paste or 3 anchovy filets (optional
1/2 cup dry white wine
1-1/2 cups heavy cream or combination heavy and light creams
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pound fettuccini, cooked al dente
Freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Heat olive oil and butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté about 1 minute. Increase temperature to medium-high. Add mushrooms and zucchini and sauté until tender; do not brown. There should be some moisture from cooked zucchini in pan, but not too much. Add basil, salt and pepper. Add anchovy paste, if desired. Stir well. Add wine and cook until slightly reduced. Add cream and nutmeg. Cook until reduced by about half. Taste for additional seasoning. Pour over hot fettuccini and toss until well combined. Serve immediately, passing grated cheese.

I used Pinot Grigio for the wine, it worked fine as the dry white wine (especially since I drank it with dinner, then). I definitely did not include the anchovy paste. The original recipe called for like 18 lbs of zucchini and did not include mushrooms, so that was a modification on my part, as was the chicken. As mom and dad suggested, I should not have mixed the chicken with the sauce, but served it separately. I used about 2 cups of Half and Half but should have used more with the chicken being in the sauce, to make it more saucy. I did really like this recipe though. I love zucchini! We served the pasta with a loaf of whole grain french bread, sliced lengthwise and seasoned with a garlic butter mixture, then broiled in the oven until toasty. Yum! Note to self- broil bread at like 400 as opposed to 250.

2007-07-10T18:50:00.000-04:00

Chicken Fajitas
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 cloves garlic
1 cup packed cilantro leaves
1/2 jalapeno, seeded
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
10 flour tortillas

Flatten chicken breasts to 1/2 inch thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap with a mallet or rolling pin. Place chicken breasts in glass baking dish. In a blender combine oil, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno and salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and pour over chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and let chicken marinate for 30 minutes. In a large skillet over medium heat oil.
Add onions and peppers and cook until they are tender and begin to brown.
Heat a cast iron grill pan or an outdoor grill. Toast flour tortillas for about 30 seconds per side and keep warm in an aluminum foil pocket. Grill the chicken on each side for 4-5 minutes. To serve slice chicken into even strips. Serve hot with onions and peppers, grated jack cheese, salsa and sour cream.

Guacamole
4 ripe avocados, peeled, seeded
1 tsp ground cumin
1 ripe, medium Roma tomato, seeded, diced
½ Cup minced sweet white onion
2 serrano chilies, seeded, minced
¼ Cup chopped cilantro leaves
4 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Hot pepper sauce, sea salt, white pepper to taste

Cut avocado in large chunks and mash coarsely in large bowl with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and blend gently - leaving some small chunks is fine. Taste and adjust seasoning with more pepper sauce, salt and pepper if desired.

Yum yum YUM. I should have pounded the chicken thinner and cut the chicken into thinner strips. And maybe a little less lime juice; it was perhaps excessively citrus-y. I only used a little cilantro from a jar because I don't like cilantro. We did the chicken on the grill outside- shoulda grilled it a little longer. Maybe shredded chicken? Steak would have been good. And I used more olive oil for the onions and peppers than was necessary. I liked the guac, but definitely did a lot of doctoring- only used 2 T lime juice (good move). Added plenty of salt, a little pepper and garlic. No onion, and substituted chili peppers for the serrano (they're 5 times hotter than jalepenos!). Didn't use sour cream. Next time, I'd like to make Mexican Rice as a side. Or, make refried beans to go on the fajitas. Over all, mom said it's a "keeper".

2007-07-04T21:25:00.000-04:00

Bacon Cheeseburger Chili
1 pound lean ground beef $2
1/2 large onion -- finely chopped $.50
2 garlic cloves -- minced
1 package chili seasoning mix -- $1
1 jar chunky salsa -- (16 ounce) $2
1 can diced tomatoes -- (14.5 oz) undrained $.75
1 can beef broth -- (14.5 oz) $.75
1/4 cup smoky barbecue sauce
1 can kidney beans -- (15 oz) drained $.85
3 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 package Velveeta cheese -- (8 oz) diced $1
6 slices precooked bacon -- diced $1.50

In large, heavy saucepan cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heatuntil beef is cooked through and onion is translucent. Add chili seasoning mix, salsa, tomatoes, broth, barbecue sauce, beansand mustard to saucepan; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add cheese and stir until melted. Serve bowls of chili garnished withdiced bacon. Makes 8 cups, serves 4-6.

I loooooooooooove this stuff. I stole this recipe from Matt- he got it from the 'Basic Cigarette Company Winter Cookbook for Men' or something equally silly like that. It's fairly cheap (can do it for less than $10), so easy, and quick. And it is DELICIOUS. I served it with biscuits- a tube of Grand's Biscuits, the flaky buttery kind, split in half, cheddar cheese inside, and then baked. Careful not to put too much salsa in. gotta watch the quantities.

2006-08-05T18:36:00.000-04:00

Pine Nut & Chicken Pasta

4 oz. fusilli pasta or spiral pasta
2 to 3 tbsp. vegetable oil or olive oil
1/2 lb. boneless chicken breasts, skinned and cut into bite-sized strips
1 1/2 cups thinly slivered red and green bell pepper
2 green onions, minced
2 tsp. minced Frieda's Fresh Ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup Frieda's Pine Nuts
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta according to package directions.
In another skillet or wok, heat oil; sauté chicken with bell pepper and onions 3 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, and pine nuts; sauté 3 minutes more or until nuts are golden. Add soy and lemon or lime juice. Remove from heat.
Drain pasta well; do not rinse. Place pasta in large bowl. Pour chicken mixture over pasta; add salt and pepper to taste. Toss well to coat with mixture. Serve at once. Makes 2 to 3 main-dish servings.

Okay, this was delicious. I didn't use as much onion or peppers as I should have, but lots and lots of veggies would be great here.

2006-08-03T23:42:00.001-04:00

Cookies ala Bizarro

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup honey
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening, vanilla, and honey. Beat in the egg until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; stir into the honey mixture. Stir in the rolled oats, zucchini, pecans and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly using a fork.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until browned. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on a wire rack.

No pecans, no raisins. Used more sugar, and some caramel sauce as well as maple extract. Threw in chocolate chips. Mom and Dad didn't like them- they're very moist and dense. Maybe another egg would help? But I liked them, as did work people.

2006-07-25T22:22:00.000-04:00

Mahogany Broiled Chicken with Smoky Lime Sweet Potatoes and Cilantro Chimichurri

1 cup chopped cilantro leaves
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon pepper, divided
5 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons bottled hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice, divided
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut in 1-inch cubes
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon chopped canned chipotle pepper
1 teaspoon adobo sauce (from canned chipotle)
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
Cilantro sprigs, for garnish

In a small bowl, mix together chopped cilantro, olive oil, minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper; set aside.
In medium bowl, mix together brown sugar, mustard, hoisin sauce and vinegar. Reserve 2/3 of this mixture. To remainder, add 1/2 cup lime juice and stir in chicken; cover and refrigerate.
Place sweet potatoes in a heavy saucepan and cover with boiling water. Cook, covered, over medium-high heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking liquid, then drain potatoes in colander.
Return potatoes to reserved cooking water and add butter, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice, cumin, lime zest, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Mash potatoes.
Preheat the broiler. Thread chicken on 8 bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes. Broil about 6 inches from heat, basting with reserved mahogany sauce until done, about 8 minutes.
To serve, divide potatoes among 4 plates; top each with 2 skewers of chicken and drizzle with cilantro chimichurri sauce. Garnish with cilantro sprigs.

Yeah this chicken was super delicious, except it turns out that I find cilantro to be disgusting. Other than that... yum! And the potatoes- soooo good.

2006-06-19T21:28:00.000-04:00

Curry Chicken

Chicken
I pounded the chicken- SO MUCH BETTER! Used a hammer and wax paper :) Put some EVOO in a frying pan with a clove of garlic, some paprika, salt, pepper and cumin. Rubbed a little lemon juice and spices on the chicken and stuck them in the pan, along with half a cup of sliced onions, heated on low. Mixed up a sauce with 1 C ricotta cheese, 1/2 C miracle whip, curry, paprika, salt, pepper and threw it into the frying pan after the chicken was cooked. Now, mom doesn't like curry, as it turns out. And...maybe neither do I. It was good, but maybe curry is not my fav. I think peanut would be a really good flavor for it; I really liked the consistency of the sauce. Mom boiled broccoli, from the garden, yuuum. I ate it with a salad. I've been making dressing with dijon mustard, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and sugar. Good, but I need to perfect the proportions. Maybe a drop of almond? Since mom doesn't like curry, I made her ginger chicken- hers was SO moist and tender because I barely let it cook, I need to be more careful about cooking the chicken too long. I made this last night and winged it tonight.

1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 t grated fresh ginger
1/2 t black pepper
2 cloves garlic
4 chicken breast halved.
Pour mixture over chicken and refrigerate for 30 min-2 hours. Spray a frying pan and cook about minutes on each side.

I added some extra spiced and sprinkled mozzarella cheese on top. Yummmm

Also I tried these interesting cookies.
1 egg
1/2 C natural peanut butter
2 T ricotta cheese
2 t vanilla
pinch of cinnamon
2 T coccoa powder
1 C sugar
1 T butter
pinch of salt
pinch of baking powder

They're kind of fun, but need more sugar, and I need to press them down next time, and cook only 8 minutes or less (at 325)- they're for me, and if I want 'em doughy, so be it! Maybe more cinnamon, and a drop of almond?

2006-06-13T13:29:00.000-04:00

Company lunch at Hilgraeve today. I am sooo full but that's besides the point. I made broccoli salad, cake, and buckeyes.

SALAD

I just tossed a lot of stuff together. I used two bunches of broccoli, 5 oz of sunflower seeds, half a bag of shredded colby cheese, raisins, chopped walnutes, 8 pieces of bacon (I definitely burned some of the bacon- I need to watch it next time, fry it on low heat), a can of mandarin oranges. I made a peanut vinaigrette, as follows:
1/2 cup peanuts, blended
1/2 C olive oil
1/4 C red wine vinegar
1/2 C water
1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
Whisk it all together like you mean it and pour it on the salad. I liked this whole thing. Maybe a different nut besides walnut, and maybe more nuts and no sunflower seeds? People liked it. Cranberries instead of raisins?

Buckeyes
Use less peanut butter, or bigger pretzel- you could do pretzel sticks- or nuggets!! DON'T BURN CHOCOLATE.

Cake
I liiiiked. But I wanted it to be moister! What makes cake more moist and dense? Putting water in the oven? Less egg? Investigate. Also, get better at frosting, you currently suck at it. And make sure the frosting is warm! Otherwise it looks all chunky, and not glossy.