Cedar-Planked Grilled Salmon with Apricot-Jalapeno Glaze

The end result

 

Okay, so this right here is kind of a big deal for me.  My gal-pal Michelle invited me to be a contributor on her food blog -- this food blog -- and this is my very first entry, and I am unbelievably excited about it.  So excited that sparks are practically flying off my fingertips as I type this and I fear I may short-circuit the keyboard.  Hi there, my name is Tanya, and I like food!  No, wait… I love food! Capital L-O-V-E.  Looking at it, thinking about it, cooking it, eating it…  Like Michelle, I spend a lot of time on Pinterest.  I just tallied up the number of recipes I’ve pinned to date and I’m currently hovering around 650, and I don’t intend to slow down anytime soon.  There are just too many good things out there that need to be made!

A lot of firsts have coincided with this inaugural entry of mine:  Testing out a new recipe; firing my grill up for the first time in at least three years; the new-to-me technique of grilling with a cedar plank; and using an amazing new ingredient that I just became mildly obsessed with.  More on that new ingredient later… 

 

Almost done...

 

I’ve been hosting regular Monday night get-togethers with my friend Kelly (who happens to be one of Tom Douglas’ pastry chefs and is no slouch in the kitchen herself!) and we decided we would each contribute a new Pinterest-inspired dish to serve for dinner. Kelly is a pescatarian and I had just pinned an amazing-looking spicy and sweet grilled salmon recipe from Kayotic Kitchen that I really wanted to try out so that's just what I did. Ingredients are listed below, but full instructions can be found here.

Ingredients:

cedar plank(s)
1 pound salmon fillet (with skin)
1 or 2 jalapenos -- minced
2 garlic cloves -- grated/minced
1 cup apricot preserves
2 tbsp grainy mustard
juice of 1/2 a lime
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tbsp soy sauce
good pinch dried thyme
salt and pepper
olive oil

It being the first time I made this recipe, I didn’t deviate from the ingredients at all and it turned out wonderfully!  It was sweet, spicy, a little smokey, and it was fun to try out a new cooking technique. That said, it wasn’t perfect according to my personal taste, and if I could go back in time, there are some very minor changes I would make.  Hey, we like what we like, and I, for one, like things a little on the spicy side! Firstly, I would have been bold and diced up both jalapenos instead of just one. Something this sweet needs to be balanced with punchy spiciness on the other end.  No worries – I tossed in a good pinch of red chili flake, which is easily my favorite inhabitant of the spice cupboard. A few other changes I would have made: Using the juice of the whole lime instead of half, and adding a just splash of apple cider vinegar – both for an extra hit of much-needed acid; adding just a little bit more garlic; cooking the fish to 120 degrees instead of 135 – I prefer my salmon a little undercooked, and I’ll take a rare piece of salmon over an overcooked piece any day; and I’d definitely double up on the mustard, which brings me to the new ingredient: Kozlik’s Triple Crunch Canadian Mustard. I was gifted a jar of this amazing mustard by my friend-in-food and co-worker, Mitzi. She described it as the caviar of mustard and she is absolutely correct. This mustard is pretty much just whole mustard seeds and they delightfully pop in your mouth when you bite into them, much like the crunchy orange tobiko that generally tops a California roll.  This will be a must-have condiment in my kitchen from now on!

(image from Kozlik's twitter account)

 

Overall, I was impressed with the flavors in the dish, and the glaze would be amazing with several kinds of proteins: shrimp, chicken, pork, tofu...  As a matter of fact, I’m going to make an extra spicy batch of glaze tonight and see how it turns out on grilled shrimp.  Now that I’ve finally got a full tank of propane for the grill, I predict that I’ll be cooking a lot of meals outdoors this summer...

White Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce

White Chicken Enchiladas

I have decided Pinterest is just one giant, online, community cookbook. You can find a recipe for nearly everything. If you don't know what you want to make for dinner, chances are you can log on to Pinterest and find a photo so appetizing, so well styled, that you will repin it because it looks so damn good. Then all of a sudden you see another and another, and you have repinned 10 different delicious looking recipes on your food board. And, if you are like me, you already have about 100 different recipes on your food board.
Every once in awhile, I try these recipes that I have pinned. I take a photo of my creation - although it doesn't look quite as appetizing as the well styled, professionally photographed one on Pinterest - and write about it on my blog. Today, I am going to share the White Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce.
I have not been eating Gluten much, so I modified this recipe to be a Gluten free version. I used corn tortillas instead of flour in the sauce, I used corn starch or you could use Arrow Root. For the most part, it was fairly easy and pretty tasty and not too spicy. It could even be classified as kid friendly - it certainly is Damon friendly! It's a good one if you are looking for something quick to make and it makes for good left overs too.

Ingredients
8 soft taco size flour tortillas (or corn if you need to be gluten free)
2 cups shredded Monterrey jack cheese, divided
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour (2 tablespoons corn starch if you need to be gluten free)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
Chopped, fresh cilantro for garnish
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan with cooking spray; set aside. Mix the chicken together with 1 cup of the cheese.
2. Distribute the chicken and cheese mixture evenly among the tortillas. Roll up and place seam side down in the prepared pan.
3. In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Continue cooking over medium heat until sauce is thick and bubbly.
4. Stir in the sour cream and diced green chiles. Pour the sauce in an even layer over the enchiladas.
5. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Sprinkle with cilantro just before serving.

Turkey Gumbo

Turkey Gumbo

To be honest with you, this post has been sitting in my draft file for a long, long while. I originally wrote it right after Thanksgiving and as I do, I got sidetracked...and then it was Christmas. I did make this twice over the holidays: once after Thanksgiving and once after Christmas.

For the past few years I have been making turkey gumbo instead of turkey noodle soup. We were really burnt out on the turkey noodle and I felt the gumbo was a good alternative. Besides, my family really liked it. The past two years, I have been making this gumbo after Christmas as well. Damon's grandmother sends up about 10 pounds of Gulf Shrimp to my Father-in-Law, Ron. While he likes shrimp a whole lot, he's no about to eat 10 pounds of it. So, perfect for the gumbo! Now, I do want to note that I am in no way, shape or form, from Louisiana. I also do not have an heritage from the south - I just really like Cajun and southern food. I've spent a fair amount of time there and I figured out how to cook the food pretty well. So, just put that judgement aside!

This recipe comes from a few that I put together. About 4 or 5 years ago, my mother-in-law, Sam, and I were shopping in this kind of weird, souvenir store in Florida and I found this book called Louisiana Entertains. It's a crazy-ass recipe book, with some great recipes and some questionable ones. It also tells you how to properly entertain, southern style. I loved it. I bought it. I cook from it and have combined several gumbo recipes to make the one that I use now. So, I hope you enjoy it!

Turkey Gumbo

1 bunch of green onions minced
1 small yellow onion minced
3 garlic cloves minced
1 green pepper diced
1 jalepeno diced
4 tomatoes diced
1 cup or 1 small bunch flat leaf parsley minced
1 tspn fresh minced oregano
1 tspn fresh minced thyme
1 bay leaf
2 ribs celery diced
2 carrots diced(optional)
4-5 strips of bacon
2 andouille links sliced
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tblsp flour or Corn Starch
2 tblsp corn oil
1 quart Turkey Stock (or chicken stock) plus 1 cup of water

In a 5 quart cast iron pot or dutch oven, over medium heat, fry the bacon strips. Once finished, remove bacon strips and set aside. Next, add the 2 tablespoons corn oil and let it heat up about 1 minute. Add to the heated oil the onion and sauté for about 1 minute. Add the garlic, green pepper, jalepeno, and tomato, and sauté for another minute. Add the 2 tblsp flour(if you are gluten free like me - use corn starch). The mixture will start to look thick and clumpy - add the cup of water a bit at a time until it smooths out. Now add all of the rest of the ingredients to the pot and give it a good stir, turn the heat down to medium and cover and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

Serve it with rice, or eat it like soup! Before the gluten situation, I used to love to eat it with a bit of French bread with Provolone Cheese melted right on it!

Mongolian Beef

Mongolian Beef

As I previously predicted, I flaked out. I didn't completely flake, but I have not been keeping up with my posting. From everything that I have been learning about social media, blogging, and blah, blah, blah, etc. is that posting regularly and multiple times a week drives traffic to your blog. While that is very relevant for my job - here...I'm not that concerned yet!
I have been cooking though! I'll catch up, and I have a lot to catch you up on...so, let's get started. The photo above is the Mongolian Beef recipe from the November anniversary issue of Cooking Light. This recipe is great if you are short on time. The other great thing is that the majority of the ingredients are those that should already be in your pantry. I did make a couple of changes. I did not have peanut oil and substituted vegetable oil. You could use canola oil too. Part of the reason that peanut oil is being used is because it can withstand higher heat. Vegetable oil can too but is not as healthy. Canola oil can be used in a pinch but may not handle the heat as well.
My sister wanted to make this recipe and I suggested that she use canola oil to her as she did not have peanut oil. It seemed to work out for her. I also suggested that she cut the amount of chile paste in half because it's kind of spicy. I went for full spice...maybe a smidge extra, Damon and I are spicy folks. Both my sister and I added extra veggies. I added broccoli and carrots and she may have too - but to be honest, I forget if she did!
This recipe is great. It's fast, easy, and pretty tasty. We've made it twice and it was something easy enough for Damon to make (I'm teaching him to cook a few things...as they say "teach a man to fish").

Mongolian Beef

Ingredients
2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce 
1 teaspoon sugar 
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons dry sherry
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons peanut oil (vegetable or canola oil will work too)
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 pound sirloin steak, thinly sliced across the grain
1 cup chopped broccoli (optional)
2 carrots sliced (optional)
16 medium green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces

Directions
Combine first 8 ingredients, stirring until smooth.
Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced ginger, minced garlic, and beef; sauté for 2 minutes or until beef is browned. *If you are added broccoli and/or carrots add it here and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add green onion pieces; sauté 30 seconds. Add soy sauce mixture; cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Note: If you feel like you need a bit more "sauce" add about 1/4 cup of water at a time until you reach a desired consistency. I used about a 1/2 cup of water... and it's because I added broccoli and carrots and it sucked up all the sauce!

Enjoy!

Cooking from Recipes: Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs

Bacon wrapped chicken thighs with sauteed kale

I haven't completely flaked out yet, just delayed a bit.  I have been keeping up with cooking though. Not everyday like I planned, because my life gets in the way and I get side tracked.

Last Thursday I made another paleo dish, bacon wrapped chicken thighs. To be completely honest with you, I didn't love it. Damon thought it was OK. He didn't hate it, mostly because it was wrapped in bacon - or that is what I think. I did follow the directions, but for some reason it was...bland. I don't know exactly what it was that I didn't like, but it was something. I think you can judge for yourself.

I served it with sauteed kale. It was nothing special, just sauteed in a tablespoon or 2 of butter, a couple of cloves of minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and a couple dashes of red wine vinegar. That's my go to kale recipe.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs
4 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs
8 slices of bacon
2 teaspoons Smokey Spice Blend (recipe to follow)

Smoke Spice Blend
1 tablespoon chipotle powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 tablespoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Sprinkle the chicken thighs with 1/2 of the of spice blend. Next wrap in chicken with 2 pieces of bacon each and then sprinkle the other 1/2 of the spice blend over the wrapped chicken. Bake for 40 minutes, uncovered, or until internal temp is 165 degrees F. If you feel that the bacon is not browned enough or crispy looking enough, broil the chicken for 2 minutes.

Cooking from Recipes: Hayley's Skirt Steak Tacos

Hayley's Skirt Steak Tacos

I wanted to make something that was fast and easy and to me, tacos are always fast and easy. This recipe comes from, again, "Practical Paleo" by Diane Sanfilippo. The recipe is named after Hayley Mason, co-author of "Make it Paleo"  - which I have not read. 

In true Michelle fashion, I made a slight alteration to the original recipe. I just needed an extra kick. Others may or may not agree, but the alteration is optional and I like it. I like it spicy! The recipe also calls for butter lettuce. As you probably can tell from the photo, I did not use butter lettuce. Truth be told, I forgot the butter lettuce when I went grocery shopping. I had romaine lettuce and it worked great! However, for Damon...I gave him corn tortillas. He's not big on lettuce as the taco shell. He's a guy and I don't blame him. He did like it though and ate all the extra steak. In the end, it's tacos and you can add or subtract anything you want from it and you can top it with what ever you want! But if you are on the Paleo Diet...no cheese, no sour cream. Me? I had both!

Hayley's Skirt Steak Tacos
Juice and Zest of one lime
1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced (I love garlic, so I used 3)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (plus 1/2 teaspoon cumin, optional)
1 small jalapeno finely minced (also optional)
Sea Salt and black pepper to taste
1-1/2lb skirt steak
1 head bib, butter, or Boston lettuce

Gently separate the leaves of lettuce and rinse them off. Set them aside to dry.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the lime juice, zest, garlic, and chili powder (and the optionals if you are going there). Place the skirt steak in the bowl and massage the seasonings into it. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Grill for approximately 3 minutes per side. Set the cooked steak aside to rest for 10 minutes, then slice against the grain into small strips. You may want to divide the skirt steak into two or three sections before slicing, as it is typically very long.

Serve the steak, and whatever topper you are going with, in your lettuce leaves.

Cooking from Recipes: Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

This dinner was quite successful. So much so that Damon actually said, "This is the best chicken! I even love the brussels sprouts! Is there more?" And no, there was not more.  I made just enough for the 2 of us, but this was definitely the day that I wished I made more. It's like getting kids to eat, when you find something they like you make a lot of it often. Needless to say, this dinner will make the regular rotation.

The chicken recipe comes from the book "Practical Paleo" by Diane Sanfilippo.  Yesterday's chop recipe came from that book as well. I bought the book because I was having some digestive problems and suspected that I was gluten intolerant. I needed a little inspiration and this book definitely gives me that, but it also gives me a lot of information about diet, allergies, and intolerance to food. It is supposed to be "real food" or "primal." I don't know whether or not I totally agree with everything in the book, but the recipes, techniques, and meal plans are great.

The Brussels sprouts recipe comes from the handy dandy, October issue of Cooking Light.  I love that magazine. You can't go wrong with that magazine.  Well, you can - but not often!

Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs
1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
2 tablespoons gluten-free mustard
Black Pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
12 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

In a small mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, mustard, black pepper, and Sage Salt. Place the chicken thigh on a baking sheet or oven-safe dish, and brush the mixture evenly over each one.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees F when inserted into the center of one of the chicken thighs.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Preheat even to 425 degrees F. Combine 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts, 2 teaspoons canola oil, 1-1/2 teaspoon maple syrup, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 pound halved Brussels sprouts on a jelly-roll pan.  Bake at 425 degrees for 17 minutes, stirring once.

Cooking From Recipes: Pork Chops w/Olive Tapenade and Roasted Broccoli and Potatoes

Pork Chops with Olive Tapenade and Roasted Broccoli and Potatoes

I am doing this! For how long? Who knows! So, my suggestion is to keep up with it while it lasts because I might flake out after a week. But really, I am trying to be serious about posting the recipes that I try.  I am also trying to be serious about using my gym membership. Maybe this thing can go hand in hand? Again, who knows! I did run today and go to Pilate's...

The above photo is Pork Chops with Olive Tapenade and Roasted Broccoli and Potatoes.  The pork chop recipe is a bit of an adaptation. The original recipe comes for the book Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo and calls for lamb chops. Well, I got lazy and didn't go searching out the best lamb chop - so I figured it would go well with pork chops and I was right!  Now the broccoli and potatoes...I just roasted them. It didn't come from a recipe. My husband, Damon, liked the pork chops quite a lot. He liked the broccoli OK, it's a challenge for him to really love veggies.  I like the veggies - but then again, I love broccoli and potates!  I really liked the chops, the olive tapenade really did kick ass and made it super tasty! I encourage you to try it. 

Lamb Chops with Olive Tapenade (or use pork chops like me!)

2 tablespoons bacon fat or coconut oil

2 lbs lamb chops (or pork chops bone in)

1 tablespoon Greek Spice Blend (recipe to follow)

Greek Spice Blend

2 tablespoons Lemon Salt

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 tablespoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons black pepper

Olive Tapenade (can be made ahead 1 day)

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons capers

1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste

Julie of 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In an oven safe pan over medium heat, melt the bacon fat or coconut oil. While the pan heats, sprinkle both sides of the lamb or pork chops with the Greek Spice Blend.  Sear the lamb chops for 2 minutes on each side (if you are using pork chops do 4 minutes each side).  Next place the entire pan in the hot oven for 2 minutes (if you are using the pork chops do 4 minutes).  Remove chops from the oven.

To make the tapenade: Combine all ingredients in a food processor or hand blender. Top each lamb chop with a dollop of tapenade.  

Roasted Broccoli and Potatoes

1 pound of broccoli, florets cut from the thick stalk

5 red, Yukon, and/or purple baby potatoes quartered

3 garlic cloves minced

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Cover a jelly roll pan with tin foil. Combine above ingredients and bake on the jelly roll pan for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

 

 

 

Mexican Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce

I know it is way more fun to have a photo of the dish so you can see what it looks like - or supposed to look like, but I didn't take one.  I don't know why either!  So, the photo above is robbed from the cookbook.  Sorry!  I have made it many times, and made it this past week when the family was in town.  It's not too difficult and makes a great left over for breakfast, especially because of the sauce.  The recipe that I have is out of my cookbook, Fresh Mexican by Monica Medin-Mora and Angeles Ayala.  I have made this recipe to their exact specifications, but the recipe that I am going to post here is an easier and less labor intensive version. 

Ingredients:

Meat Balls
8 oz lean ground pork
8 oz lean ground beef
1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 egg
salt and pepper

Chipotle Sauce
3 Chipotle Chili's in Adobo and 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
5 Roma Tomatoes, diced
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 thyme sprig
1 1/2 cup Chicken Stock

First, make the meat balls. Mix the ground meats, onion, garlic, egg, and salt and pepper (I use a couple of pinches of each) in a bowl.  Shape the mixture into chestnut-size balls.  In a deep skillet, on medium high heat, brown the meat balls on all sides.  You will most likely have to do it in 2 batches.  You do not want to crowd them in the pan so that they can evenly brown.  Once all the meat balls have browned, set them aside and discard the oil from the skillet.

Once you have discarded the oil from the skillet, start the sauce.  Continue to keep the heat on medium high and add to the same skillet, the tomatoes, onion, garlic.  The juice from the tomatoes will deglaze the skillet and grab the brown bits from the meat.  Cover and let simmer for about 5 min, stirring occasionally.  While the tomatoes are simmering, add to a blender, 3 chiptole chilies, 1 tablespoon of the adobo sauce, and 1/2 cup of chicken stock and blend till smooth.  Once the tomato mixture has softened, add the tomato mixture and another 1/2 cup of chicken stock to the blender with the chipotle sauce still it and blend till it is a smooth sauce.  Add the sauce back to the skillet and turn the heat down to medium-low.  Add the remaining 1/2 cup of the chicken stock, thyme sprig, and bay leaf to the sauce and stir so it a nice "saucy" consistency.  Lastly, add the meatballs back to the sauce.  Give it a gentle stir so that the meatballs are covered with the sauce.  Cover the skillet and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Serve with rice, tortillas and pinto beans.  It also makes for a tasty left over with eggs!

Enjoy!

A Long Time Comin' - The Pulled Pork Tacos

Photo Courtesy: Joe Bressler (I ripped it from Facebok)

Pulled Pork Tacos in my Grandma's Kitchen

A couple of months ago my Grandma Dody passed away.  It was a pretty sad time for all.  A lot of mixed emotions, or maybe I had a lot.  But there is always one good thing that comes from a loss of a family member: family comes together.  Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's scary, sometimes it's a learning experience - but no matter what it's good to be able to be surrounded by love. 

I used to talk to my Grandma a lot about cooking.  My Aunt Kelly and Aunt Chauna gifted me the set of her Julia Child's French Cooking books - notes n' all.  It was a great gift.  What was even greater was that I was able to cook dinner for my family in my Grandmother's kitchen.  I have never cooked in her kitchen, so it was fun for me and I think they all enjoyed it.  I think my Grandma enjoyed it.  So here is the recipe for all of you.  

Pulled Pork Tacos

(This is for a smaller portion - I made 6 pounds above and this is for 1.5 pounds)

1.5 pounds of Pork Shoulder Roast (can be boneless or bone in)

1 Pablano Pepper cut in strips

1 Jalapeno Pepper cut in strips

2 Tomatoes diced

1/2 yellow onion roughly chopped

3 whole crushed garlic cloves

1/4 cup of roughly chopped cilantro

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Cut the roast in half so it's in 2 slabs about 2" thick.  Put in a roasting pan/dish and liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper (about 1 tsp each). Add peppers tomatoes, onion, garlic,and cilantro on top of the pork.  Drizzle a generous amount of Olive Oil over everything (about 2 tblsp)

Roast uncovered for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes turn pork and putting the other ingredients around the pork and roast uncovered for another 20 minutes until the pork is a little brown on top.  

Turn the oven down to 375 and turn the pork one more time and cover the pan with either a lid (if the pan has a lid) or tin foil and roast for another 30 minutes. After 30 minutes the pork should be tender and will pull apart easily.  

Remove pork from the dish and into another dish to cool.  Next take all the remaining ingredients and any juice in the bottom of the pan and put in a blender or food processor and blend till a smooth sauce.  

Once the pork has cooled a bit (about 10 minutes) shred/pull the pork apart.  Next add the sauce to the pork and mix together. Serve with tortillas, shredded cabbage, or whatever you like.

In the photo above you will see cabbage, Mexican Crema (sour cream), guac, salsa... the works!  

Note: If you double the recipe, you can add about 5 minutes to each baking time.  

Well, it's been a long time coming!

Enjoy

Dinner for Two

I am starting to get a bit better at making dinner for two. I used to make dinner for 6 for two and just have left overs for lunch every day, but making a new dinner every night for 6 eventually led to left overs over looked...and then trashed.

I used to make orange chicken all the time and haven't in a while. But last night, I made a new version using all these ingredients that needed to be used or they would parish in my fridge. And I made just enough for two! So, this one can be for my Auntie's!

Mandarin Orange Chicken

3 Mandarin Oranges, juiced (about 4 oz.)
1/4 Cup of Dry white wine or Vermouth
The zest of one whole Mandarin Orange
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 2 thin breast pieces
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 medium leak halved and sliced
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon whole pepper corn
1/2 teaspoon whole coriander seed
Couple dashes of Nutmeg (or 1/4 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon of Olive Oil
Cooking Spray

1. Zest one whole mandarin orange. Mince the garlic. Put the orange zest, garlic, pepper corn, coriander seed, nutmeg, and sea salt in a mortar and pestle and...for lack of a better term...smash the ingredients together. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil into the mixture and create a paste.

2. Juice the 3 oranges, then add the 1/4 cup of booze to the juice. Cut the leak down the middle and cut each half in slices. Set aside one half.

3. Fillet the chicken breast so that you have 2 thin cut pieces of chicken breast fillets. Rub both sides of the chicken breast with the paste.

4. Coat a frying pan with cooking spray and fry the the chicken breasts on medium high heat. About 3 minutes each side. Remove chicken breasts from pan and set aside. Add another teaspoon of olive oil to the pan and quickly saute 1/2 of the sliced leaks, about 1 minute. Add the orange juice and booze, scraping all the brown bits up. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer for about 2 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken. Add the chicken back to the pan and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Turn the heat down and continue to spoon the sauce over the chicken for about 2-3 minutes or until sauce is reduced.

Serve with steamed broccoli and potatoes mashed with other 1/2 of the leaks sauteed with butter. Yum.

Enjoy!

Crock-Pot Time

I have been trying to make sure that we eat dinner at home at least 5 days a week. So, far we have been pretty successful. It definitely makes us feel a lot better to know that a) We are saving money by eating in and b) We are saving calories and potential weight gain by eating in.
Today, I am a little bit cramped for time and will not be home to make dinner. To keep up with our eating at home, I opted for a crock-pot meal. I looked up several varieties on line last night and decided on Chicken Cassoulette. I looked over the recipe and decided to change it up a bit to my liking. So with that, finally, my first recipe!

Chicken Cassoulette in a crock-pot

2 15oz Can of Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup water
3 cups Chicken Broth (low sodium)
4 Boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into 1" cubes
8 oz cooked bacon (I use the end piece bacon, they are chunkier)
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, sliced
3 carrots, sliced
2 tomatoes diced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Sherry
2 tablespoons Molasses
1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Chop the bacon up into medium sized chunks and fry in a saute pan over medium-high heat, for about 2 minutes. Add all of the yellow onion and cook until slightly carmalized.

Turn the crock pot on low and add the bacon and onion. Put the pan back on the burner, add the chicken, browning all sides. While the chicken is cooking add all of the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot. Once the chicken is browned, add it to the crock pot. Give everything a good stir and cover. Cook on low heat all day long (about 7-9 hours). Serve w/a nice crusty artisan bread.