10.04.08
Chicken, Corn & Black Bean Stoup
Chicken, Corn & Black Bean Stoup
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Lbs chicken tenders, cut into bite sized pieces
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 ½ Tablespoon ground coriander
1 Chipotle chili pepper in adobo sauce, chopped
1 Large onion, chopped
4 Ears of corn, kernels cut from cob
1 Red bell pepper, cored seeded and chopped
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 Quart chicken stock or broth
1 15oz can black beans, drained
2 Tablespoons lime juice
¼ Cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1. Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat with the vegetable oil. Add the chicken and season with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander. Amd chipotle pepper. Cook the chicken until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the onions, corn kernels and red bell peppers. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes.
3. Dust the chicken and veggies with flour, stir, and continue to cook for 2 minutes.
4. Turn up the heat to high and add the chicken stock. Bring the stew up to a simmer and then add the black beans. Simmer the stew for 15 minutes
5. Add the lime juice and cilantro, and stir to combine. Taste and check for seasoning; adjust with salt, pepper and a little hot sauce if you like the heat.
6. Serve garnished with a little sour cream and a little bit of chopped cilantro.
03.18.08
Easy Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
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4 oz lean smoked turkey sausages, sliced
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3 celery stalks, sliced
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1 onion, chopped
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1/2 cup water
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2 tbsp flour
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1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
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2 1/2 cups milk
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1 each, small green and red pepper, chopped
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1 can stewed tomatoes
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Salt
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Italian parsley (optional)
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add rice, sausage, celery and onion, cook, stirring, for 2 mins.
Add water
Whisk flour and Cajun seasoning into Milk, Gradually stir into skillet
Bring to a simmer, stirring often
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer gently for 15-20 mins or until rice is almost tender
Stir in green and red peppers, cover and simmer for 5 mins
Remove from heat
Sprinkle tomatoes over rice mixture, cover and let stand for 5 mins
Stir gently to combine and season with salt to taste
Garnish with parsley
03.16.08
One-Pot Parmesan Rotini
I am in Ottawa, Canada right now and found a calendar put out by the Egg Farmers with all these awesome recipes. I have not tried any of these but they look easy and yummy.
Ingredients
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3 tbsp flour
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3/4 tsp each, salt and Italian seasoning
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1/4 tsp pepper
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3 cups milk
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2 cups water
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12 oz whole wheat rotini or other short pasta
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2 cups small broccoli florets
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1 can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, drained
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1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
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1/4 chopped basil
In a large pot, whisk flour, salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper into milk and water
Heat over medium high heat until steaming, stirring twice.
Stir in rotini, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, for 10 mins.
Stir in broccoli
Cover and simmer for about 2 mins, until rotini is almost tender
Uncover and cook, stirring gently for about 3 mins or until pasta is tender but firm, broccoli is tender-crisp and sauce is thickened
Stir in tomatoes and Parmesan
Cook, breaking up tomatoes with a spoon until heated through.
03.15.08
Dirty Rice
Since I was born in N’arlins I will proclaim this to be real Louisiana cookin. I guess somewhere years ago I started with a recipe from somewhere but I don’t remember where (maybe Justin Wilson) but now I just do it from memory.
Because there is no fixed recipe or measurements, this nearly always tastes a little different each time – but always very tasty.
this will make enough for about 3 people.
start two cups of white rice (see another post) when you start chopping this stuff up. Have everything chopped and ready to go before beginning to cook.
12 oz pkg of country ham
or
6 oz pkg country ham and 1 or 2 chicken breasts (1 of the hormone monsters or 2 normal ones) in 1/2″ cubes
olive oil – cooking quality not dipping quality.
1/2 to 1 bell pepper – in 3/8″ cubes
1 bunch green onion (thumb diameter best but pinkie sized ok) – 1/8″ slices from the white to about about the green tops in 3/8″ slices.
3 or 4 stalks celery in 1/4″ slices
3 or 4 good sized garlic cloves chopped fine (do your own not prechopped)
can or jar of mushrooms if you’ve got them and like them
red pepper
white pepper
oregano
butter
white wine
In a big skillet (2 – 3 in deep) cook the ham (med to med hi heat)- I’ll add a little olive oil to get it crispier. Remove the ham to paper towels when done but not overdone. If you are doing the chicken thing, add a little oil to the ham drippings and then throw in the chicken and cook till browned. Remove the chicken to paper towels.
Add a little more oil to the pan and throw in the pepper, onion, garilic and celery – should be med high by now (the pan and you if you’ve been drinking properly). Cook this for a little while (5 minutes??) while scraping the bottom of the skillet to mix in the ham drippings. Toss in the mushrooms. Put about 1/3 stick of (real) butter in and stir it around til melted – the heat may get lowered just a bit here if that is the correct feel. Add the red and white pepper – you’re on your own here. My ball and chain does not like as much heat as I – I use my palm for a measuring device but I just went and measured what I generally use – about 1/8 teaspoon of each or a little more. Then some oregano – looks like about 1 1/2 tablespoons. Stir that around and add some white wine – I generally use a 6 oz bottle but a little more from a 750 ml opened for the meal would be better. Tear the ham into bite size pieces and put that in along with the chicken if you included it. At this point you’ve got all the dirty stuff simmering in wine and butter. The longer you cook this the more even the spices are distributed – not necessarily better or worse than quickly adding the rice – just another variable.
Add about 1/2 the rice and stir well. Continue adding the rice but stop before it absorbs all the moisture and gets too dry. Spoon onto a plate and eat with a piece of garlic bread and (hopefully) a glass of that white wine.
Good Burgers
Got the general idea from an article in the Chattanooga Times. I don’t do real precise measures so just use this as a guide.
For 2 large burgers:
1 Lb Hamburger meat – don’t use the lean stuff – something like 85% lean tastes better.
5 strips of bacon fried crisp
the equivalent of two 1/4″ thk slices of yellow (Vidalia or Walla Walla best) chopped into 1/8″ to 1/4″ pieces – go ahead and do half again more if you are going to do baked beans
1/2 cup or so of freshly grated parmesan or sharp italian cheese
give one piece of bacon to your wife and chop/crumble the rest. Add the meat, cheese,onion and bacon in a bowl – salt and pepper – few splashes of WhatsThisChereSauce. Mix well and divide into two patties. I leave mine thick but poke a hole vertically through the center. Sandy likes her’s thin and, therefore, larger diameter. Cook on a charcoal grill – I like the Weber Kettle with the lid on most of the cooking time. If you like cheese, throw on a piece of swiss or cheddar near the end of cooking – about 5 minutes the first side and 4 to 5 on the second. Usual buns and condiments.
Cheesy Broccoli Calzones
I used the refrigerated pizza dough, and it worked well. I highly suggest leaving it as a rectangle and not attempting to re-roll it into a circle. (I made a disaster of one) Very tasty, but also very cheesy, so beware if you have lactose issues.
- 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- salt & pepper
- 1 pound frozen broccoli florets
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 (1 lb) balls ready-made pizza dough
Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 475 degrees. Brush two baking sheets with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil each. Combine cheeses in small bowl. Bring 1 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to boil in a large skillet over high heat. Add broccoli, cover, and simmer until broccoli is just tender, 3-5 minutes. Drain thoroughly and roughly chop. Wipe skillet dry, add remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and garlic, and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Toss in broccoli and season with salt & pepper to taste. Roll out each ball of dough and transfer to the two baking sheets. Mound half of cheese on one side of each dough round, leaving 1 inch border around the edges. Top each with half broccoli. Brush the dough with water, fold over filling, press edges to seal and cut 5 slits in top of dough. Bake until golden, 15-20 minutes.
03.09.08
World’s Easiest Mac and Cheese
This comes from Family Almanac by way of my step-mother. It is a favorite whenever she makes it, which is typically for family gatherings such as Thanksgiving or Christmas. I’m typing it from the copy I have verbatim:
When it comes to pleasing a child’s palate, this savory classic is a pretty safe bet. Here’s a super simple version that goes together layer by layer, making it fun for kids to help prepare as well as eat.
Cook and drain 1 pound of elbow macaroni and let it cool slightly. Meanwhile, heat the over to 350F and grease a 13×9 baking pan or a large casserole dish.
Now have your child spoon a third of the pasta into the pan, then pour in 1 cup of milk and cover it all with 4 to 6 slices of American cheese. Add two more layers of pasta, milk, and cheese in the same manner.
Next, crush a dozen Ritz crackers in a ziplock plastic bag. Add salt and pepper and a dash of paprika, then sprinkle the crumbs over the top layer of pasta and cheese. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until bubbly. Serves 6 to 8.
03.08.08
Chicken Crunch
I haven’t made this in quite a while, but I think I used a lot more butter. If I remember correctly, if the stuffing was not adequately buttered, it tended to burn before the chicken was done.
- 1 can Cream of Chicken soup
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 2 Tbs. flour
- 2 Tbs. butter, melted
- 1-1/2 cups herb seasoned stuffing, finely crushed
- 1 tsp. dried parsley flakes, optional
- 1/2 tsp. lemon juice, optional
In shallow dish, combine 1/3 cup soup and 1/4 cup milk and set aside. Lightly coat chicken with flour and dip into soup mixture. Coat chicken with stuffing. On baking sheet, arrange chicken and drizzle with butter. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes of until chicken is no longer pink. In 1 qt. saucepan, combine remaining soup, 1/4 cup milk, parsley, and lemon juice. Over low heat, heat thoroughly stirring occasionally. Serve with chicken.
Golden Chicken Nuggets
Basic, but still really good, quick and easy. Excellent with Honey Mustard, of course.
- 3 whole chicken breasts
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. sesame seeds
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 1/2 cup water
- Hot vegetable oil
Cut chicken into 1″ x 1-1/2″ pieces; set aside. Combine next 5 ingredients. Dip chicken into batter, and fry in hot oil until golden brown (Oil needs to be really hot so nuggets can cook quickly and not dry out) Drain on paper towels.
Marinated Flank Steak
My mom’s fabulous flank steak recipe. This also makes for great sandwich leftovers (on rare occasions you actually have leftovers of this)
Note: I haven’t made this personally yet, but it seems like the cooking time on the second side might be a little bit long. I might be wrong, though.
- 1 to 2 lbs. flank steak
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
Unfold flank steak and put in baking dish. Take a fork and pierce steak in a lot of places on both sides so marinade can soak in better. (Don’t know if this really helps but can’t hurt) Mix together all ingredients for marinade. Pour over steak making sure the entire piece is well coated and marinade got underneath as well. Cover dish tightly with plastic wrap, then refrigerate for no less than 24 hours. Turn the steak over at some point around the half-way mark of marinating. If marinating for 2 days, like we usually do, then turn over after one day. To Broil the Steak: Preheat the broiler to 450. Pour off the marinade. Broil the steak 3″ from the heat. Broil 6 to 7 minutes on the first side. Turn with tongs and broil for 11 to 15 minutes on the second side. The steak should be slightly pink inside. To Carve the Steak: Allow the meat to rest for about 5 minutes. It is imperative to carve the steak across the grain at a 45-degree angle. Cut in thin slices.
