Bacon wrapped Chicken

I went to a dinner for a church function and there was bacon wrapped chicken. Brian, you immediately came to mind.
I asked for a recipe, and got a Sheri recipe. You know, "Take the chicken, sprinkle some chili powder and brown sugar. Wrap the bacon around and cook it."
Normally I'd say, "Wow. Thanks for the vague recipe." But since I'm used to Sheri recipes, I came home and did it.

Recipe: Bacon Wrapped Chicken

2 chicken breasts (I pound them until they are about 1" thick)
Sprinkle with 1-2 tsp Chili Powder (or Paprika)
Sprinkle with Brown Sugar (3-4 tablespoons)

Preheat oven to 350.
Cut the chicken into strips (I cut 3 strips, then in half to end up with 6 strips of chicken)
Wrap the chicken in with bacon.
Place on foil-lined pan (I didn't line my pan and regretted it)
Bake for 20 min at 350.
Drain excess fat/juice
Broil at 400 for 5-7 min
Flip the pieces and broil for another 2-3 min
Feel free to cook it longer or shorter if you like your bacon cooked differently. I like my bacon well done and slightly crispy. The chicken was a little dry (which I like). If you want moist, leave some of the juices/bacon fat in the panama skip broiling (keep the temp at 350 for 30-35 min or until the chicken is fully cooked and to your liking).

Mint Limeade and Homemade Enchilada Sauce

I went to Cafe Rio a few weeks back and fell in love with the entire restaurant. Handmade tortillas. Handmade horchata and lemonades. But in the heat, the mint limeade was by far the most refreshing. So I came home and immediately hit up google for a copy cat recipe . . . and came out empty handed. Boo. But, with some luck and a super helpful taste tester (thanks, Alex :), we figured it out.

Mint Limeade

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
5-6 cups of water (start with five and add more if it is too strong)

2/3 cup lime juice (about 6 med limes)
10-12 mint leaves, finely chopped

Directions:
In a small sauce pan, combine 1 cup water and sugar. Stir on medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
In a pitcher, combine sugar water, water, lime juice, and mint leaves. Refrigerate overnight.

I attempted some homemade enchiladas with a homemade sauce. It wasn't the best, but it's what I made. I'll update the recipe as I tweak it to our liking.

Enchilada Sauce
http://www.food.com/recipe/texas-red-enchilada-sauce-42094

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons flour
5 teaspoons red chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
6 ounces tomato paste
2 1/4 cups water
salt and pepper

Instructions:
Melt butter/margarine in a sauce pan.
Make a roux by browning flour in melted butter/margarine.
Add spices and tomato paste; stir until well blended into roux.
Add water gradually, stirring constantly.
Heat until boiling.
Continue simmering and stirring until desired thickness is achieved.
Taste every so often and adjust spices as needed.
Once desired consistency and taste is reached, coat the bottom of a pan with the sauce, add freshly rolled enchiladas, then pour the remainder of the red sauce over enchiladas.
Place pan in oven and cook until enchiladas are done.

Noodle Bowl

In my dating days, I dated a guy from Thailand. And he started my love affair with Pad Thai. But once you've had it homemade, the restaurant stuff just doesn't cut it. And I could never figure out his recipe.
This recipe isn't "real" pad Thai. But it's still delicious. At first bite, I was a little disappointed, but then I realized, it's really good (as long as you're not expecting authentic Pad Thai). So I call it a noodle bowl.

Easy Pad Thai
http://browniesfordinner.com/2010/05/11/easy-pad-thai/
(adapted from Everyday Food)

Serves 2

4 ounces dried, wide and flat rice noodles
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 squirt (about 1/8 teaspoon) Sriracha
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 scallions (green onions), white and green parts, separated and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs, light beaten (optional)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts

Soak noodles according to package instructions. Drain.
In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, and Sriracha.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
Add scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add eggs and cook, scraping skillet with spatula until eggs are almost set (about 30 seconds). Transfer eggs to a plate.
Add noodles, scallion greens, and sauce to skillet. Cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are soft (about 1 minute). Add egg mixture and toss to coat, breaking eggs up gently.
Serve with wedge of lime, chopped peanuts, and cilantro

Homemade Chicken Taquitos

 

will post recipe shortly

Baked Zucchini

 

 

I took some zucchini , sliced thin, brushed them with some olive oil.  Then added some dried basil, parmesan cheese, and diced tomatoes. Baked in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Quinoa with veggies

I was bored and have been wanting some quinoa.  Decided to experiment again. 
Here is what I came up with.

2 Cups cooked Quinoa

½ bag shelled edamame (I put some salt and pepper on them)

1 ½ cups cooked broccoli

1 zucchini.

Saute some garlic and a diced jalapeno in a little olive oil.  Throw in quinoa and vegetables.  Add ½ cup mozzarella cheese and ½ cup parmesan (or more or less depending on your liking of cheese).  I then used heavy cream to thin it out…but next time am going to try chicken stock.

 

I also had an avocado that I peeled and ate with it as garnish...it was SUPER YUMMY!!!

 

Jalapeno Poppers

Once again... I took a recipe and modified it.

and...sorry there is no picture...we ate them to fast.

Here is the recipe:

2 - 8oz blocks softened cream cheese
1 Cup Mayonnaise
1 Cup grated cheddar cheese
2/3 cup grated mozzerella cheese
1/4 cup diced green onions

 8 jalapenos cut in half and cleaned out
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Combine the first 5 ingredients together.  Mix well.  Stuff jalapenos with mixture and sprinkle with parmesan.

cook at 350 for about 20 mins.

with the left over filling I added a cut up jalapeno and put in a dish topped with parmesan and baked with the poppers.  Then served with tortilla chips.

It was delicious either way.  The poppers were a tad spicy but the dip was not.



below is the link to the original recipe.

http://www.simply-gourmet.com/2012/08/183-jalapeno-popper-dip.html

Almond Brittle

This took WAY longer than I wanted it to but it was totally worth it.

2 Cups Almonds
1/2 Cup Cashews
3/4 Cup Dried Cranberries
1/2 - 2/3 cup Pumpkin seeds
1/2 - 2/3 cup coconut (I had a real coconut that I used but shredded from a bag would be ok)

2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup honey (I used Agave Nectar)
1 Cup water
1/2 tsp Salt
1 TBSP Butter

Combine Sugar, Honey, water and salt into a saucepan.  Slowly bring to 310 degrees (using candy thermometer).  If you do it to quickly it will burn the sugar so use a medium heat.  It took me a little over an hour to get it that hot.  Once it is 310 let it cool to about 300 and add the butter and the rest of the ingredients.  Put on greased parchment paper in a cake pan and spread out as thin as you would like.  Mine was probably about an inch (it was way to hard to try and get it thinner).

I would probably change the nut mixture to sugar syrup ratio.  I would use more nut mixture as there were some spots that had WAY to much of the sugar.

Here is the link that I got the idea from.  I modified it (as I almost always do) :)
http://adventurescooking.blogspot.com/2010/03/autumn-brittle.html

Baked Parmesan Chicken

Chicken Parmesan

I saw this recipe on pinterest and just had to try. Here is the link to the website: http://classyclutter.blogspot.com/2012/09/baked-parmesan-garlic-chicken.html





 

Marinade:

For the marinade, combine ingredients in a ziplock bag:

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 Tbs of lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 4 chicken breasts

Let marinate for a few hours.

 

Breading Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
2. 1 package Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix 
3. 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 
4. 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
5. I added some panko bread crumbs.  I also needed more breading because I cut my chicken breasts in half. 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Mix cheese, dressing mix and garlic powder.
3. Remove chicken from marinade and coat with dry mixture. Place in shallow baking dish.
4. Bake 20 to 25 min. or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. 

While the chicken was cooking I made a spaghetti squash.  Sauteed some garlic, onion, and spinich and added it to some of the spaghetti squash and served the chicken instead of spaghetti noodles.  The chicken was a huge hit.  One recommendation is to add some pepper and not so much garlic. 

Sheri's Zucchini pasta versions


I made my own version of Zucchini pasta. I sauteed some garlic with some onion, orange pepper, and a sweet pepper in a little bit of olive oil and peper.  Then I added a little bit of crab and shredded chicken. After that sauteed for just a bit I added my zucchini and a little parmesan.  It was so delicious.

 

We also did a different version because someone does not really care for onions and peppers.  So, we took the garlic and zucchini and sauteed it in the olive oil. Then we added some shredded chicken and some garlic parmesan spaghetti sauce with a few fresh diced tomatoes. Topped it with some parmesan cheese.  Voila!!! Delicious

Sweet and Sour Chicken

One word: Yumm-O!!!

Sweet and Sour Chicken
Adapted from:
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2008/07/sweet-and-sour-chicken-updated.html

Ingredients:

Chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 large eggs, beaten

Olive oil

Sauce:

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup ketchup

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Heat 1-2 T oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
While the oil is heating, pound the chicken breasts until about 3/4 inch thick and then cut into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Put the chicken into the bag with the cornstarch and seal, tossing to coat the chicken.
Whisk the eggs; dump eggs into ziplock bag and shake until chicken is coated with egg.
Cook in a single layer in the hot skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip each piece over to cook on the other side until nicely golden. Place in a single layer in a baking dish.
Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour 1/2-3/4 of the sauce over the chicken in the baking dish. Bake for 30 hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce.
Serve over rice. The extra sauce can be used for dipping or over the rice.

Zucchini Pasta

I've been in a sort of cooking funk. I blame the heat. Nothing sounds good. It's hot. Cooking sounds miserable. Jamba juice sounds palatable.

But Brian's post yesterday had me inspired. It sounded yummy!

So I took some zucchini, used the mandoline, and sliced the zucchini into "spaghetti noodles".

Then, I made the pasta salad with some left over chicken... Except I didn't have tomatoes, Italian dressing, olives.... Okay, okay. I had zucchini spaghetti with shredded chicken. At least Elle liked it :)

Ingredients:
Zucchini- 3 was enough for Elle and I (sliced with a Julian blade on the mandolin)
Veggies - tomatoes, broccoli, mushroom, onion, or whatever your heart desires
Shredded chicken
Sauce

Method:
Sauté zucchini in 1-2 Tablepoons of Olive Oil
Season with garlic, onion, salt, and pepper to taste
Add shredded chicken
Continue sauté until zucchini has reached desired tenderness (mine took about 3 min).
Add veggies (I like to add sautéed mushrooms and onions)

I didn't add any sauce or dressing. I love the purity of the olive oil with the salt and pepper. But if Elle wasn't allergic to dairy, I'd top it with Alfredo sauce in a heartbeat :)

Spaghetti Salad

My wife and I constantly try to invent the next great dish and I think we may be onto something with this new spaghetti salad that we made tonight!

Spaghetti Salad

4 servings of spaghetti (cooked to desired tenderness)
1/2 chicken breast (grilled or pan fried)
1/4 small onion, diced fine
1/4 cup broccoli tops
1/4 cup cherry tomato halves
1/4 cup sliced olives
2 TBSP shredded parmesan cheese
4 TBSP Olive Garden Cesar dressing

 Mix all ingredients in a bowl and serve with grilled zucchini. It was DELISH!

Salsa

So... I have this friend from work that loves to plant a garden every year.  I am the lucky beneficiary of that garden.  Went this morning and picked some fresh tomatoes....Red ones and yellow ones and one REALLY hot chili pepper (well that is what Brian says anyway...wus :^P).  Brian and I decided to make some different salsas with them.  Can I just say YUMM-O!!!

This one is red tomatoes, onion, garlic, green onion, and the pepper.  Then a little salt and lemon juice.

This one is the yellow tomatoes with avocado, onion, garlic, salt, and a little lemon juice.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Before Alex left, I made a rotisserie chicken in the slow cooker. It's simple and makes many different dishes. To do a slow cooker chicken, take a small, whole chicken, rub spices ( I used Trader Joe's 21 Season Salute), sprinkle salt and pepper inside. I cooked it on low and left it overnight. Once it cooled, I took all of the meat off and stuck it in the refrigerator until I was ready to do the nuggets.

We got about 30 from 1 small chicken. I will definitely add more spices next time. I forget that with chicken it's practically impossible to over season.

Homemade chicken Nuggets
adapted from Local Lemons

For the Nuggets:
about 4 cups shredded chicken
1 egg
Seasoning to taste (I used garlic, salt, pepper)

Pulse the chicken and egg in a food processor. The chicken should be small chunks, but not pureed.
Using a large cookie scoop (about 2 T), divide chicken, press together, and form small nugget.

For the Egg Wash:
1/2 cup milk
1 T Vinegar
1 egg

For the Breading:
1 cup Flour (seasoned to preference)
1 teaspoon baking soda

Dip the nugget in flour, then egg wash, then flour again.
I sprayed them with a cooking spray and pan fried them. But, you could deep fry them, or bake them too.

We served ours with a mayo/ketchup/mustard mix. I think dijon mustard would be good as well.

chicken salad bites

I know these look very similar to the zucchini bites.  That is what happens when you are making 2 different things at the same time and you realize at the very end you don't have sour cream for the chicken salad :(

Here is my recipe.  I add everything to taste.  I like more veggies in mine so it is probably 1/2 chicken 1/2 veggies.

can of chicken (since I don't like left over chicken I use a can)

zucchini

spinich

carrots

red pepper

garlic

fresh basil

pepper

togarashi spice

you can also add ranch seasoning for a little more flavor

this is when I normally would add the reduced fat sour cream (cuz with all the stuff you can't tell its reduced fat)  but since I didn't have sour cream and i was making the zucchini bites I decided to take 1/2 the mixture and add:

1 egg

1/4 cup panko crumbs

jalapenos

1/3 cup cheese (I used italian blend in first batch, and 1/2 cheddar 1/2 parmesan in second) I will use the cheddar/parm mix in future.

put mixture in mini muffin tin and cook at 400 for 15 minutes.

zuchhini bites

So, I found this recipe on pinterest and had to try it because I love zucchini :)  I double the recipe and added both kinds of cheese as well as 1/2 panko crumbs and 1/2 plain bread crumbs and then just added some italian spices. oh... I also added some chopped up jalapenos for some heat and left out the onion but will probably try it in the next batch :)

I love them... Mr. Man... not so much.. he doesn't like the texture but says the taste is really good. 

Here is the recipe

http://curiouscountrycook.blogspot.com/2012/03/zucchini-tots.html

1 cups zucchini, grated
1 egg
1/4 yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup cheese (cheddar or Parmesan work the best)
1/4 cup bread crumbs - I used Italian style
Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a mini-muffin tin with non-stick spray, set aside.
2. Grate the zucchini and then place in a dish towel to squeeze out the excess water- like when using frozen spinach; if you skip this part, the middle of the zucchini tots will be really soggy while the outside gets crispy and no one wants that.
3. In a bowl combine, the egg, onion, cheese, bread crumbs, zucchini, salt and pepper.
4. Using a spoon or a cookie scoop, fill the muffin cups to the top. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the top is browned and set.

Creamy Avocado Enchiladas

I love Mexican Food. LOVE IT. So, here is a healthier version of creamy enchiladas!

Creamy Avocado Enchiladas
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients:
10 Flour Tortillas - I recommend these homemade.

For the Enchilada Filling:
2 chicken breasts
1 cup broth (vegetable or chicken)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 minced garlic cloves
2 Tablespoons fresh, chopped cilantro
1 can of diced green chilies (or use fresh jalapenos)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 Tablespoons flour

Directions:
Place all the filling ingredients in a crockpot, except yogurt and flour.
Allow to cook (about 2-4 hours on high).
Take out the chicken, cube or shred it.
With the liquid that is left in the slow cooker, add yogurt and stir. Once incorporated, add flour to thicken. Add shredded chicken back in.

Fill Tortillas with filling (I used about 1/3 cup filling per tortilla). Place in a 13x9 pan.

For Creamy Avocado Sauce:

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3/4 cup yogurt
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 avocados, pitted, mashed
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:
Melt butter in a med sauce pan.
Add flour and mix to make paste with butter.
Whisk the mixture while slowly adding 2 cups of broth, making sure the sauce doesn't clump.
Add yogurt, avocado, and spices.

Pour sauce over enchiladas. I served them straight (because everything was hot and cooked). However, feel free to toss it in the oven to warm them if you'd prefer.

Flour Tortillas

I promised myself that before I left San Antonio, I would learn how to make flour tortillas from scratch. It didn't happen. Boo.
What did happen, was my introduction to Rick Bayless via Top Chef Masters! I just knew that if I could get ahold of his flour tortilla recipe, I would have authentic, homemade flour tortillas! And he shares it! Here!
He didn't disappoint.

The recipe is heaven! However, I cannot bring myself to feed my family that much lard, so I adjust the recipe. I feel horrible admitting that. I really do have tons of respect for Rick Bayless. Goodness, I hope he never, ever sees this blog post. Thankfully, I'm not a celebrity, so the likelihood of that is slim to none :)

Here is my version of Rick Bayless Flour Tortilla Recipe:

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups of all purpose flour (you don't have to sift, but I fluff the flour before I measure, you do not want it packed).
5 Tablespoons Oil (I like to use refined coconut oil or olive oil, any oil will do. Authentic tortillas use lard. Lard can be replaced with vegetable shortening)
1 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup warm-hot water (this helps the dough come together. Warmer than room temp, but not so hot you can't touch it).

Directions:
Measure flour into a bowl.
If you are using an oil that is solid at room temperature, add it to the flour and mix it until it is finely and evenly integrated into the flour.
In a separate bowl, measure out water and salt (When I use liquid oil, I include the oil in with the water).
Create a well in the flour, add your liquid ingredients, and mix with a fork. It will be a crumbly mixture. To get the dough to come together, you'll have to dump it onto the counter and knead it. If it is too dry, and the dough isn't coming together, dump a tablespoon of water onto the counter and continue kneading the dough.
Once the dough comes together, divide it into 10-12 balls (10 makes about 9" tortillas, 12 makes closer to 6").
Place the balls in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rest for at least 30 minutes. This makes the dough less elastic. If you do not allow the dough to rest, it will be tough and will not roll out.
Warm your skillet(s) and roll our the balls of dough to desired thickness. I like mine as thin as I can roll them. Also, be sure to keep the dough covered, as it dries out quickly.
Cook tortillas for about 30 seconds on one side (until there are spots of golden brown), flip, and cook for about another 30 second.
I have a bit of a groove; the stove-top setting that works best for me is right between med and med-high. For those who care to know: After my first couple of times, when I got more comfortable, I figured this routine out: I roll two tortillas out, place them on the skillets, roll out one more, turn back to the skillet and flip my tortillas (they have light brown spots on one side), roll another tortilla, and by the time I've rolled out the two tortillas, the two on the skillet are done. I take the done ones off, and replace them with the two I just rolled. whew. Or do whatever is easiest for you :)

notes: I have tried to reduce the amount of oil. It doesn't work. I've also used whole wheat flour. If you add whole wheat flour, my suggestion is to substitute no more than 1/2 (really, I only sub 1/4) of the AP flour AND use more oil/water (because whole grains soak up more liquid).

TOMATO AND MUSHROOM RISOTTO

TOMATO AND MUSHROOM RISOTTO

• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 10 oz. rice
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 6 plum tomatoes, skinned, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
• 2 tbsp. cream cheese
• 3 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ tsp sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large saucepan sauté the onion with the olive oil for about 3 to 4 minutes and then add the mushrooms and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently until softened.

2. Stir in the rice and cook for another minute or two. Pour in a quarter of the chicken broth, bring to a boil and cook until absorbed, stirring frequently.

3. Gradually stir in the rest of the broth over a period of about 15 minutes, adding more as each previous amount is absorbed. This helps to give you a creamy risotto.

4. When the rice is al dente, mix in the tomatoes and herbs. Check the seasoning and stir in the cheeses. Serve in warmed bowls topped with shaved aged Parmesan