Chicken & Rice Alla Milanese

Whoa, its been awhile. I really do cook almost every night believe it or not. I guess I just haven't made alot of new stuff lately and when I have I've been too busy to post about it. School for me and the little bit is back in full swing, so like always I'm in search of quick, easy, but yet tasty and healthy recipes. I had a bottle of Italian dressing in the pantry staring at me and felt like I needed to do something with it other than your average salad with dressing. I went hunting on the Wishbone website and found this one Marinate boneless skinless chicken breasts in Italian dressing 3 hours up to overnight. Brown chicken in a skillet on both sides. Add in a cup of remaining dressing, chopped tomato and chopped mushrooms Simmer for 45 minutes. Remove chicken from pan. Make a slurry of 1/2 cup of hot water and 2T of flour. Add to skillet and bring to a boil. Stir constantly for 5 minutes allowing sauce to thicken. Plate cooked rice, chicken, sauce, saffron and cheese. I did make some adjustments. I butterflied my chicken to make it extra thin. And I just cooked my rice in the rice cooker. I plated it, rice, chicken, sauce and a sprinkle of the saffron and cheese. I used the Unexpected Cheddar from Trader Joe's. Its out of this world, fyi.

Oh and by the way, this one was family approved. :-)

Baby Apple Dumplins'

I've said this before and I'll say it again. I like to cook, but not so much bake. Way too much measuring for my tastes. So, whenever I do bake it has to be simple. These little dumplings were right up my alley.

Baby Apple Dumplins'

2 granny smith apples
2 cans of crescent rolls
2 sticks of butter
1.5 cups of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 can of Mountain Dew
cinnamon **I used cinnamon sugar that I got at the Amish store**

Peel apples and slice each apple into 8 wedges. Wrap each wedge in a crescent roll. Place in a greased baking dish. Mix together melted butter, sugar and vanilla and pour over dumplings. Pour Mountain Dew into dish around dumplings. Sprinkle all with cinnamon. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Serve warm, preferably with vanilla ice cream.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

OMG! If you like jalapeno poppers, you must give this a try. It is super good!
We ate it with Fritos scoops.

Mix together 8oz softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup of mayo, 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar, 1/2 cup of parmesan and a can of sliced jalapenos.

Place in a baking dish.

Mix together 1/4 cup of panko bread crumbs and 1/4 cup of parmesan and sprinkle on top.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

I made this awhile back and it was quite good. I made it to put on top of taco salads we had for dinner one night, but it was also good with just tortilla chips which is what we did with the leftovers.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of corn, rinsed and drained
green onions, chopped
tomato, chopped
avocado, chopped
1 jar of pimentos
fresh cilantro
salt
lime juice
garlic powder

Mix all well and let chill before serving.

Bada Bing Potatoes

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.

Here is what I did, which was pretty close.

Boil potatoes as directed, but for only 15 minutes instead of 20. After reading reviews this seemed to eliminate the too mushy factor. Then smash each as directed. I used the bottom of a glass measuring cup.

In a large bowl, I mixed together melted butter, evoo, fresh basil, some McCormick's Italian Seasoning, fresh garlic, Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, season salt and pepper.

Layout on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes until crispy.

These were so delicious! I will make them again and again!

Portobello Pizza

Homemade Pizza Sunday. My kiddo did a bagel pizza. Hubby did a FlatOut Bread Pizza. I'm eating as few carbs as possible right now, so I made a Portobello pizza.

Remove stem and gills from mushroom. Brush with olive oil and bake about 4 minutes. Top with sauce and desired toppings. Then cheese. I also sprinkled on some fresh basil from my plant. So good. :-)

Oh Snap Shrimp!

I recently concocted this and it turned out super yummy. Fresh ingredients are a must for this one. No dried basil, garlic powder or fake lemon juice will do..use the real stuff!

Toss peeled and deveined shrimp into a bowl with a drizzle of sesame oil, the juice of one lemon, 1 tbsp of garlic, 2 leaves of chopped fresh basil, 1 tsp of hot chili paste, 1 tbsp of coconut flour and a dash or two of salt and pepper. Mix well.

The longer it sits, the more the flavors will meld together.

Saute it all in coconut oil until done.

Bacon Ranch Poppers

Cut tops off of fresh jalapenos and cut in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and membranes.
In a bowl mix together softened cream cheese, some shredded sharp cheddar and dry ranch mix. Stuff peppers. Wrap with bacon and broil until bacon is crisp.

Lovely Lemon!

This year for Easter I wanted something lemony. I traditionally make lemon bars but decided I wanted a pie or something, but I didn't want the gel type pie filling. This reminds me more of a lemony cheesecake.

Lovely Lemon Pie

1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup of lemon juice
half a container of cool whip
graham cracker crust

Mix together condensed milk and lemon juice until it starts getting thick. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into crust. Chill in fridge, preferably overnight.
Eat!
Could it be any easier??

Crab Rangoon Cups

I made this appetizer a bit back when I was craving Crab Rangoon, but wanting to be relatively healthy and not eat the fried version. Not exactly the same, but good nonetheless.

Cut egg roll wrappers into four squares. Spray mini muffin pan and place a wrapper in each hole. Brush with some sesame oil. Other will do, but I think sesame oil is always a better flavor for anything oriental.

Mix together flaked crab meat, chopped green onions, chopped water chestnuts, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Stuff wrappers and bake at 350 until lightly browned and mixture is bubbly.

Snowy Day Soup

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas.....in other words, its snowing today.
Dinner tonight was just what we all needed. A big ol' bowl of warm comfort.

Vegetable Beef Soup
First I took beef stew meat and put in a pot just covered with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for two hours. Skim fat scum off the top and drain the water from the beef.
In a large Dutch Oven, place beef. Pour in a large can of V8 and 3 cups of water. Add 2-3 bay leaves, 1 tsp of basil, 1 tbsp parsley and 1 tsp of salt. Stir well. Sprinkle black pepper completely over the top of the soup. Mix well. Add one large, unchopped but peeled onion(this definitely gives it awesome flavor in my opinion!)

Now, you can use an assortment of veggies of your choice, either fresh, canned or frozen. I prefer fresh or frozen because I think canned gets mushy. If you do use canned, drain off all the liquid or it will be too thin.

This time around I used fresh potatoes and carrots. And frozen corn, green beans, lima beans and green peas.

Add any of the fresh vegetables to the pot now because they take longer to cook. Bring to a boil and simmer for one hour. Then add the frozen veggies and simmer another hour.
I served it with cheddar garlic biscuits. Yum Yum.

Turkey Leftovers...

We ended up having a 20lb turkey's worth, plus some that was sent home from my dad's so I tried to get pretty creative with the turkey.

-We had two nights and one lunch of turkey with all the other leftover Thanksgiving sides.
-Our standard turkey clubs(turkey, bacon, sharp cheddar, a slice of cranberry sauce and fancy mustard
-Turkey and avocado paninis
-Turkey salad made with grapes and almonds in wraps
-turkey noodle soup, made with from scratch stock made by boiling the carcass
-buffalo chicken dip(made with turkey)
-white chicken chili(made with turkey...)
-turkey and black bean enchiladas

While we still have a little left, its going in the trash.
I think I'm starting to see feathers growing on my back end. :)

What did you make with your turkey leftovers?

Pass the Turkey Please!

So, we are headed to my family dinner for the actual holiday meal, but I always have to cook my own Thanksgiving bird at home. I love spending the weeks before Thanksgiving watch the marathons of shows on The Food Network and browsing the internet and my cookbooks for new recipes to try. So, I made my dinner this past weekend and here was the menu:

White Wine and Butter Basted Turkey
stuffed with Sage and Mushroom Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Roasted Root Vegetables
Green Bean Casserole
Corn
Cranberry Orange Relish
Rolls
Apple Caramel Cake

With the exception of the dessert...I do not really dig baking...everything was from scratch of course, as it should be, for the holidays. Here is a sampling of a few things in more detail...

White Wine and Butter Basted Turkey
I make a different turkey recipe every year, just to try something different. However, this year I made Martha Stewart's Cheesecloth Turkey and I may be hooked. It was to die for juicy and delicious and one of the most brown and beautiful birdies I think I ever did see.

First, wash your bird, inside and out. Stuff the cavity and the neck cavity. Secure the neck flap and tie up your bird.


Before doing all this to your turkey you'll want to simmer three sticks of butter and a bottle of white wine on the stove top. Soaking a piece of cheesecloth(big enough to cover your breast, not yours, the turkey's...and the tops of the legs.
Season your turkey with salt and pepper and then cover it with the cheesecloth.


Roast your bird at 325 for three hours, basting with the butter/wine mixture every half hour. Remove from oven to remove cheesecloth. Your cheesecloth will be black! Don't be alarmed...


Baste with the turkey drippings...bake another hour or until done, basting with drippings every half hour.
Enjoy!


Roasted Root Vegetables


Cranberry Orange Relish


Apple Caramel Cake

Korean Beef Bulgogi and Sauteed Bok Choy

While this STILL did not turn out as good as the Bulgogi I've had at the Korean restaurant, it was quite tasty just the same.

Korean Bulgogi
Cut beef sirloin into strips and marinate in a combination of pear juice and white wine and black pepper for 30 minutes. Next add soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, sesame seeds, garlic and green onions. Then marinate at least two hours and up to overnight.

Heat sesame oil in a wok and saute mushrooms and onions. Next add beef mixture and stir fry until done. Bring to a boil and then turn to low. Add a corn starch slurry to sauce and then simmer until thickened. Serve over rice.

On the side I sauteed bok choy in sesame oil with some fresh minced garlic and a splash of rice wine vinegar.

Ravioli with Creamy Pumpkin Sage Sauce

I love fall and everything that goes with it. I try to make a new pumpkin recipe every year and here was the one for this year. It was quite good!

Here is the original recipe.
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup shallots
10oz prepared alfredo sauce
1/2 cup pure pumpkin
1 Tablespoon of sage
2-9oz packages of cheese ravioli
2 Tablespoons of chopped green onions

Cook wine and shallots in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 tablespoon. Stir in sauce, pumpkin and sage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain, reserving cup cooking water. Stir reserved water into sauce; toss with pasta. Sprinkle with green onion. Season with ground black pepper.


I made the following changes:
Sauteed my shallots in butter and then added the wine.
I also added a little minced garlic in with the shallots.
And seasoned with a little black pepper while cooking instead of later.
I sprinkled the top with more sage instead of green onions.