Ginger Garlic Chicken & Noodles

This dish has a lot of potential, and it could've been really awesome had I done a few things differently.  So this is how you should do it... take 3 boneless skinless chicken breast and cut them into small bite size pieces and coat them lightly in a mixture of cornstarch and Kosher Salt.  Heat about 1/4 C canola oil over high heat in a large skillet.  Add your chicken to the hot oil and brown.  While chicken is cooking get your noodles going.  I used linguini.  Be sure to add salt to your boiling water.  Cook noodles according to directions.  Remove the chicken from the pan and add your garlic and ginger and saute over med heat until the oil infuses the garlic and ginger (about 3-5 minutes), add your chicken back into the skillet and add 3/4  C  chicken stock and let the dish simmer for about 10 minutes.  Drain cooked noodles and reserves about 1/2 C of the pasta water.  Take 10 leaves of fresh basil and tear by hand and added to noodles and add about 3 tbs of thai garlic chili oil to the pasta and fold it in.  Add a little of the pasta water, just to keep the noodles loose.  Serve the noodles in a bowl with the chicken over top and drizzle about 1 tsp of soy sauce over top.  That's it.  FYI- be sure to get your skillet very hot before you add the chicken otherwise the chicken will get a slimy coating on it from the corn starch.  This slimey coating will overtake the dish and that's not Good Eats.

Chicken with Mixed Veggies and Kluski Noodles

Tonight was about using whatever I had in the refrigerator and pantry, so I came up with this dish that was good for a first timer.  First thing, I got my Kluski Noodles going-it usually takes them about 20 minutes to cook.  I chopped up 5 cloves of garlic, and one jalapeno and I sauted those in a very large skillet with 1tbs of EVOO over med heat for 1-2 minutes. I had 2 different types of mixed veggies in the freezer and I added those to the skillet and let those saute for about 5 minutes.  While the veggies cooked, I took some leftover chicken thighs and drumsticks, removed the skin and bone and chopped the chicken into very small pieces.  I added the chicken to the veggie mix.  To the skillet I added 1/4 C unsalted Chicken Stock, 1/4 C heavy cream and 1/4 C low fat sour cream.  I stirred it and brought it to a boil and then reduced it and let it simmer.  While it simmered I added 1tsp marjoram, 1tsp oregano, 1tsp of red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp thyme and a 1 tsp of onion powder to the skillet and mixed it in and continued to let it simmer.  As it was simmering it was getting really thick, so I added about 1/4 C of skim milk.  When the noodles finished cooking I added them to the skillet with the chicken and veggies.  I also added about 1/3 C of the noodle water to the skillet just to keep the dish loose.  The end product was like a chicken stew and it was good, but it would be better with fresh vegetables and the addition of white wine to the sauce would've been nice.  From start to finish this dish took less than 30 minutes, so if you don't have a lot of time give it a try and let me know how it turned out.

Tex Mex Beef & Saffron Rice

You've seen variations of this dish several times, but I like to try different things, so you will continue to see it in the future until I get it exactly the way I want it. Typically when I make the rice for this dish I use Turmeric, but tonight I wanted something different, so I used Saffron. If you don't what Saffron is, its the stigmas of the Crocus Sativus Flower. It has a strong flavor and should be used sparingly. It also gives a beautiful golden hue to dishes. Saffron is one of the most expensive spices and that is also a good reason to use sparingly. Tonight I added a pinch of Saffron to the Jasmine rice while it cooked in chicken stock. I also added a pinch of kosher salt to rice while it cooked. My Tex Mex beef consisted of using 1 lb of lean ground beef, chopped garlic, green pepper, jalapeño pepper, shallots, corn, 1 can of rinsed & drained low sodium black beans, 1 8oz can no salt tomato sauce, no salt added chicken stock and my Tex Mex seasoning blend. First thing I chopped my veggies. I had some corn on the cob leftover and I cut kernels off. I added my veggies to a large skillet with 1 tbs of EVOO and sauted it for about 10 minutes. I added the ground beef and broke it up while cooking. I then added the beans and sauce along with 3 tbs of my seasonings and 1 C of the stock. The season mix has cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, coriander, cayenne, chili powder and corn starch. I use more cumin and paprika because those are my favorite spices.  When you make your spice mix, just play with it, you will figure out what you like best. I let the meat mix cook down and served it over the rice with avocado, cilantro and low fat sour cream. This dish took about 30 minutes to make. I really didn't like the tomato sauce addition, a little too acidic. I added 1 tsp of sugar to smooth it out, but it was still acidic. I didn't add more, because I didn't want it to be sweet. Next time less or no tomato sauce. Let me know what you think.

Indian Spiced Veal & Beef with Brown Rice

This recipe is one that Padma Lakshmi created. She is the co-host of Top Chef. She also had her own food show, but I haven't seen it in quite sometime. This dish is good and it's loaded with flavor. I deviated with the spices, by adding 1 tsp of curry along with the garam masala. I didn't have a lemon, so I used a lime instead and I only had 1/4 C of frozen peas. I also chose to use 1 8oz can of tomato sauce instead of the fresh tomatoes. I served the this over brown rice. This dish is simple, tasty and quick. FYI- very spicy, so be careful with the chilis. Give it a try.

Grilled Pork Chops With Pesto & Pasta with Veggies

When you have the charcoal grill going it's such a shame to waste the heat. So the other nite after I grilled the steaks, I just couldn't waste the hot coals, so I grilled up some pork chops, potatoes, smallwoods and corn. Tonight we had the pork chops topped with a dollop of fresh pesto with farfalle pasta and sauted veggies. I started by chopping up some garlic, zucchini, yellow squash, green pepper and sweet onion and sliced some mushrooms and sauted them in EVOO until the shrooms were a golden brown. While my veggies cooked, I made some pesto from basil in my garden. My recipe is simple- I roast about 1/3 C pine nuts in a 375 degree oven until they are light golden brown. This takes between 7-10 minutes. I take 3 cloves garlic, 3 C of basil packed in the measuring cup, and I blend in the food processor. I then add the pine nuts and drizzle 1/4-1/3 C EVOO into the processor as its still blending. I don't add salt because the cheese supplies plently. You are looking for a smooth creamy texture. I remove the mixture and place in a medium bowl and I fold in 1/4 C of freshly grated Parmigiana Reggiano. You want the cheese to be finely grated. That's it!  I drained the cooked pasta and added it to the pan with he veggies along with  1/4 C chopped basil and mixed it in.  I served the pasta with the grated Parmigiana Reggiano and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Check it out-yummy and very easy!!

Healthy Herbed Meat Sauce and Farfalle

My favorite thing about summer is the garden.  I have a very, very small garden and I grow tomatoes, peppers, garlic and herbs.  One of these days I'll have a garden where I can grown corn, beans, cucumbers, squash, potatoes and more,  the sky is the limit, but right now I'm happy with my little garden.  Tonight I made a meat sauce and I used fresh herbs from the garden, basil, oregano, thyme, Italian parsley and rosemary.  This is a really simple dish; first thing, I got my pasta going.  Then I chopped 5 cloves garlic, 1/2 red pepper, 1/2 green pepper and 1/2 vidalia onion and sauteed them in 1 tbs of EVOO until they were softened.  I took 1lb of Laura's Lean ground beef w/ 4% fat and a and little fresh parmigiana reggiano.  I served it over farfalle, but you could use whatever pasta you like. One thing I would like to mention is that tonight while making the dish, I was conscience of not adding additional salt to anything.  Not the best idea, because pasta really needs salt and this pasta didn't have any flavor.  I recommend adding salt to the pasta water.  The sauce was fine with no added salt especially with the cheese.  If you want something healthy then I would give this dish a try.  Good Eats!

Grilled Chicken Drumsticks and Smallwoods

Tonight I was tired and I wanted something that required little effort, little mess and clean up, and I didn't want to sacrifice taste, so we grilled up some drumsticks and made a Smallwood.  I started by preheating my gas grill,  the 3 left burners on med and the 2 right on low.  I would've used my charcoal grill, but I was out of charcoal, and like I said I was tired.  You know when I was a kid I hated the dark meat of chicken, but now it's my favorite.  I love thighs and drumsticks they just cook up so juicy and flavorful.  Don't get me wrong I do like a good breast, but it has to have the skin on and bone in. So I pulled my drumsticks from the frig, a stick of unsalted butter and my veggies for my Smallwood.  I melted 4 tbs of butter in the microwave.  I rinsed and dried my drumsticks, placed them in a large bowl, poured 1/2 the butter over them and sprinkled them with S & P and then I just worked it all into the flesh.  I sat those aside and started chopping up the veg for the Smallwood.  If you don't know what a Smallwood is, it's just your favorite veggies roasted in a foil pack with butter or oil and your favorite seasonings.  I learned this little trick on a rustic camping trick.  You know when your camping primitively, which I seldom do now, everything tastes great.  Especially over an open fire.  Camping for me today consists of setting up camp in Hocking Hills and using my Coleman Stove, Coleman Grill and just about Coleman everything.  We save the campfire for smores. I failed to mention that we sleep in the trailer that we haul our ATV's in with a queen size blow up mattress, fans and heaters and electric.  I have to say it's pretty cushy.  We just lack running water and a toilet, but who needs a toilet when you have the woods and a shovel.  Right?  OK, back to the Smallwood- tonight I had on hand garlic, poblano, red and jalapeno peppers, asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash and red skin potatoes.  I chopped the veggies and quartered the potatoes and left the garlic cloves whole (they roast up so nicely).  I placed in a bowl and remaining butter and some cajun spices mixed it all up and just placed in a foil packet.  I placed the Smallwood on the low heated burner side and the chicken drumsticks on the medium side.  I grilled it all for about 25-30 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally and basting it with the butter that was leftover in the bowl. Always check your chicken with a thermometer, there's nothing worse then serving up bloody chicken. I also shook the Smallwood occasionally, so that everything inside cooked evenly. That's pretty much it and look how it turned out.  Looks good doesn't it?  Well it's not difficult so give it a try.  Bon Appetit!

I Don't Know, But it Sure Was Good!!

Last night I pulled some leftover frozen smoke pulled pork from the freezer.  I had smoked the pork butt back in the winter.  I thought when I pulled it out that I would just do pulled pork sandwiches, BORING!!  But tonight I decided to put a tex mex flair on it.  I started by getting my rice concoction started.  I added 1 C basmati rice, with 1.5 C water, 1.5 tsp chicken bouillon granules, 1 tbs cumin, 1.5 tbs hot hungarian paprika, and 1 tsp of turmeric, 1 can of rinsed and drained red beans, 1/2 C frozen corn.  I just mixed it all up, brought it to a boil and then I covered it and let it simmer for 20 minutes.  You could add whatever beans you like, I just had the red beans on hand.   While the rice was cooking, I chopped 1 jalapeno (w/ seeds), 1/2 poblano pepper, 1/2 red pepper and I sliced 1/2 of a red onion.  I heated a large skillet and added a 1 tbs of EVOO and then added my veggies and let them saute for about 5 minutes.  I then added 1 1lb of the smoked pulled pork and 1 C of no salt chicken stock and mixed it up.  After several minutes I added about 2.5 tbs of my mexican seasoning which consists of cayenne, chili powder, cumin, oregano, hot hungarian paprika, salt and  corn starch.  I'm partial to the paprika and cumin so my mixture has more of those 2 ingredients.  Just play with your mix and find what's right for your palate.  I let this simmer for about 15 minutes.  You might need to add water if the mixture gets too thick.  I served the pork over the rice with chopped scallions and cilantro, grape tomatoes and sour cream.  Enjoy!!

Grilled Pork Chops with Smallwoods

I'm very sorry to say, but my dad past away 2 weeks ago Saturday morning.  Obviously not really interested in posting lately, been so busy, so tired, so everything!!!  Although, yesterday Will and I did have a really nice day, we rode the bike to Yellow Springs and had lunch at Peaches Grill.  Love Peaches, great biker joint with great burgers and over 20 brews on tap.  Anyway, we spent most of the day riding and later stopped to visit with his folks.  My in-laws are great people, I'm blessed to have them.

I failed to mention that my parent's gave Will and I this really kick @#$$ charcoal grill.  I've never been much for charcoal grilling,  but I'm a convert!!! Love it.  So when we got home we grilled up some nice pork chops (no brining-trying to cut back on salt).  I just seasoned them with some Cajun spices and little EVOO.  I guess it took them about 20 minutes to grill.  We also did something referred to as a "Smallwood".  A Smallwood consists of taking your favorite veggies, garlic, your fav herbs/spices w/ butter/evoo and place them into a foil packet and grill them.  I don't puncture the foil.  Just let the veggies steam in their juices.  If you add potatoes, sweet potatoes or carrots you will have to steam for a least 25 minutes.  Oh, but when it's finished, it is oh so yummy.  What I love about this dish is that you use seasonal veggies and they are SOoooo good.  Give it a try, it's so easy and very little mess and clean up.  BTW, in our Smallwood we had asparagus, green beans, mushrooms, whole garlic cloves, red skin potatoes, red bell pepper, zucchini, squash, jalapeno and flat leaf parsley.    Bon Appetito!!!  Will be back soon.