Honey Teriyaki Chicken with Ripe Pineapple 4/8/10

This dish was very easy to make and nice substitute to the traditional pre-made teriyaki dish!
* 2 cups water
* 1 teaspoon salt, eyeball it
* 1 rounded cup basmati rice
* 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
* Vegetable oil, for drizzling
* Salt and pepper
* 1 cup chicken broth or water
* 1-inch ginger root, peeled and chopped
* 1/4 cup honey
* 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
* 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
* 4 scallions, thinly sliced
* 1 ripe pineapple

Directions:

Preheat a grill pan over medium high heat.

How to cook rice:
Bring water to a boil in a small covered pot. Add salt and rice to the pot. Return the water to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and replace cover. Simmer 18 minutes and remove rice from heat. Take the lid off the pot to cool rice a bit.

How to cook the chicken:
While your rice is cooking, lightly coat chicken with oil, salt and pepper. Place chicken in hot pan and cook 6 minutes on the first side.

While chicken is cooking, bring chicken broth and ginger to a boil. Stir in honey. When honey has dissolved into broth, add teriyaki sauce and sesame oil and reduce heat to simmer.

Turn chicken and coat liberally with honey teriyaki sauce using a basting brush. Do this process a few times. When chicken is near done (about 9min.) pour in the excess sauce. Add thickening agent if needed. (i.e. cornstarch and cold water)

Cutting a Pineapple:
While chicken cooks peel and cut a ripe pineapple. Cut off top and bottom of pineapple. Set pineapple upright and trim away skin in strips from top to bottom. Halve pineapple lengthwise and quarter each 1/2, lengthwise. The core is edible, but may be trimmed if you wish. Serve with chicken and rice.

Penne Rustica 4/7/10

So this was an easy dish to make, especially since the veggies were previously roasted! This dish is full of flavor, fast on time, and can be made in a snap!

Ingredients:
* 1 pound penne pasta
* Cooked chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces (three boneless, skinless)
* Chopped roasted veggies: zucchini (2), eggplant (1/2), onion (1/2), bell
pepper (1/2), asparagus (1/2 bunch cut in half), roasted tomatoes (3)
* 1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
* 1 can diced tomatoes with juice
* Salt and ground pepper

Optional Ingredients: (did not use)
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Cook penne according to package directions. While pasta is cooking sauté the chicken and add veggies and canned tomatoes to pot. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
Stir in chicken and remaining ingredients.

Beer Battered Asparagus with Garlic Aioli and Roasted Veggie, Panchetta, and Havarti Paninis! 4/5/10

So tonights menu was a tadbit more intensive than usual but because I roasted the veggies earlier in the day I was half way there and well worth it!!!!

First off....

Garlic Aioli:
I cut the recipe in half and next time I would use less lemon juice.
* 1 cup mayonnaise (1/2 cup)
* 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (1/6 cup)
* 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard (Kept amount the same)
* 1 lemon, (1/2 lemon zest)
* 4 tablespoons finely minced garlic (I used 5 small cloves)
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon leaves (skipped this)
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* Salt

In a food processor, combine all ingredients well. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Next......

Beer Battered Asparagus:
Beer Battered Asparagus:
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon pepper
* 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
* 1 cup beer
* 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
* Vegetable oil, for frying

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan until it reaches 375 degrees F.

Whisk together flour, salt, pepper lemon and zest in a bowl until combined. Add beer and whisk ingredients until smooth.Dip asparagus in batter to coat. Remove excess batter before frying. Gently transfer battered asparagus to oil and fry until golden. Stir gently to keep the asparagus from sticking together.

Transfer to a baking sheet that has been lined with paper towels and keep warm in a preheated 200 degree F oven.

After putting the Asparagus in the oven begin the panini's

Panini's:
Olive Oil
2- Ciabatta Loaves (sliced)
4- Pieces Havarti (pre-sliced)
1-Clove garlic (minced)
1- Vine Ripe Tomato sliced
1-package chopped Panchetta
3 Leaves of Spinach

Veggies Roasted from earlier in the day....
Eggplant, Zucchini, Onions, Bell Peppers


After all is prepped heat a few teaspoons of olive oil in a pan (or sandwich grilling machine). Place Ciabatta pieces in the oil face down for a few minutes until brown. While doing this heat the Panchetta in another pan until the oil is cooked off.

You are now ready to assemble.....
1. Spread the minced garlic on the tops of each piece of bread.
2. Put a piece of cheese on each side of bread so when you go to grill it glues the sandwich halves together.
3. Spread Panchetta into both sandwiches
4. Next place in the spinach and the rest of the veggies.
5. Close up and grill for about 10min. or until the cheese is melted and the sandwich is warm.


This is a great meal; full of flavor, color and perfect of a rainy spring day!

How to prepare many veggies for roasting! 4/6/10

Ok, with this week being spring break I have time to not only shop for grocery's but try new recipes for dinner! With it being spring produce looks lovely at the grocery store.

I will be grilling various veggies to use over the next few days. This is a great thing to do on Sunday to save time cooking during the week. You may say to yourself...How hard can it be to grill veggies? Well the truth is, there are various ways to prepare different veggies to bring out the best of each of them!

So you say; Whats on the menu?
Asparagus, Eggplant, Sweet Onions, Zucchini, Red Bell pepper, and Roma Tomatoes.

Preparation:
Wash all veggies in cold water to keep them from wilting! Turn oven on to 400 degrees. Next drizzle olive oil over cookie sheet (about 2 Tblsp).

Eggplant: Trim off both ends of the eggplant. Next you will want to cut the eggplant into 1/4 inch think strips. When done you want to sprinkle the eggplant with salt to sweat the bitterness out (let sit for approx. 30min).

Asparagus: Trim of the bottom 1/3 of stalk, put on the baking sheet and roll the Asparagus in olive oil coating each side. Next sprinkle salt, pepper, and fresh garlic over the top.

Sweet Onion: Peel the think outer skin off of the onion and then chop the onion into chunks; remove the core and add to baking sheet.

Red Bell Pepper: From the stem of the pepper cut it into for large pieces. This gives you the opportunity to use the pepper without having to deal with all those stubborn seeds! Next cut the pepper into 1/2 inch strips with the flesh side out to aid in cutting and add to baking pan.

Zucchini: Cut off both ends of the Zucchini. Next cut it length wise (should look a bit like a boat). Add to the baking sheet sprinkle with fresh oregano,salt, lemon zest and lemon juice to give the zucchini a fresh spring flavor.

And last but not least.....

Roma Tomatoes: (when cooking it is best to use romas because they are big on flavor but easy on juice) These are simple as can be! Cut length wise, sprinkle with salt and go!


When you are done, sprinkle olive oil on the top of all your veggies (2Tblsp) put the baking sheets into the preheated oven and bake for 25-30min until golden brown!

Yummy Fried Rice...3/10/10 (sorry no pix)

(Start rice cooking, 1 cup)
Scramble three eggs (plain) and set aside
Sautee 1/2 Onion, 3 cloves of garlic in a little bit of oil until soft....
Then add frozen veggie mix of carrots, peas, and corn....add salt/pepper to taste
After a few minutes mix in cooked rice.....mix well
Sprinkle two/three teaspoons of soy sauce
Mix evenly, then done!!!!! :)

This was an amazing fried rice!...if you don't like a lot of egg in your rice reduce to 1 or 2.

Strawberry Streusel Muffins- 4/4/10

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened (I always use smart balance to reduce fat/cal)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh strawberries (used about 1.5 cups)
Powdered Sugar (Skipped this step to reduce sugar_

Instructions:

For streusel topping:

In a medium sized bowl combine 1/2 cup unsifted all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in 6 tablespoons butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Briefly rub the mixture between your fingers to blend in butter (reduced the butter to 4.5 tablespoons)

For Muffins:

Heat oven to 400° F.

Grease muffin pan.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg. Beat until well blended.

In a medium size bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a small bowl, combine milk, sour cream and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternating with the milk mixture. Beat just until batter is combined. Gently fold in strawberries.

Spoon batter into greased muffin cups. (Fill about two-thirds full). Sprinkle tops of muffins with the Streusel Topping (with the way the streusel turns out it is best to scoop a tablespoon onto each muffin...measures out to be a perfect amount for 12 muffins)

Bake for 20-25 minutes (23 min. is perfect in my oven) or until toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool muffins in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing from the muffin cups. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve (skipped this step).

This muffin is quit fresh, moist and light! The texture is perfect and not to sweet but full of flavor; which makes a great addition to any breakfast!

Mixed fruit coffe cake- 3/28/10

Fruit Mixture:
4 c. chopped (I used strawberries, blueberries, peaches)
1 c. water
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/4 c. sugar (reduced to 1cup)
1/3 c. cornstarch (used cold water and flour, works the same)

Dry Ingredients:
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground mace (nutmeg)

Wet Ingredients:
1 c. butter
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Strudel Topping:
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. sugar (used 1/4 cup instead)

In the saucepan, combine fruit and the water. Simmer, covered, for about 5
minutes or until fruit is tender. Stir in lemon juice, cornstarch, and
1 1/4 cups sugar. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cool.
(did not let cool turned out fine)

In mixing bowl, stir together 3 cups of flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder,
salt, cinnamon, and mace. Cut in the 1 cup of butter until mixture
resembles a fine crumb mixture. Combine eggs, vanilla, and milk. Add to
flour mixture, mixing until blended. Spread half of the batter in
greased pan, 13 x 9 x 2 inch or two 8 x 8 x 2 inch.

Spread the fruit mixture over the batter in pan. Spoon the remaining batter
in mounds over the fruit mixture, spreading out as much as possible.
Combine the 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and cut in 1/4 cup butter
until crumbly.

Stir in nuts. Sprinkle over top of coffee cake. Bake 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees. (in a 9x13 pan it took 53min to cook)

This is one of the best coffee cake recipes I have ever made! The fresh mixed fruit makes this recipe moist and quite the treat on a Sunday morning. My husband and friends loved it; was gone within a flash!

Serve with some nicely scrambled eggs and a cup of coffee.