Thai Chicken Curry and Veggies

Yes, we've done curry chicken before, but this one is a little bit different.  You gotta try it!  It's easy and so yummy!  Here's what you need: 2 tbs Oil, 1 tsp of Five-Spice Powder (this is an asian spice, fully loaded with flavor.  You might be able to purchase at the market, but you'll probably have to go to a Whole Foods, natural food store or an asian market), 5 cloves mince garlic, 1 tbs minced ginger, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1 tbs soy sauce, 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1" pieces, 1 C chicken broth, 3 tsp curry powder, 1 14 oz can of lite coconut milk - not cream of coconut (found in the asian section of your market), 2 tbs rice wine vinegar, 1 bag of frozen stir fry veggies.  You will want to serve this over basmati rice and indian naan bread.


Here's how to do it: Heat your oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat until hot.  Stir in five-spice, garlic, ginger, cayenne and soy sauce.  Blend well.  Add chicken and coat thoroughly with spice mix and cook for about 5-8 minutes.  Add the chicken broth, rice wine vinegar and coconut milk; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping sides.  Add your veggies, bring to boil and cook an additional 3 minutes.  Serve over basmati rice and if you can find some naan bread it's awesome to dip into the sauce.  Good Eats!!

  

Five Layer Bars

This is a recipe that I got from Paula Deen on the Food Network. Very simple and very decadent. Preheat yor oven to 350. You will need: 9x12 baking pan, 1.5C Graham cracker crumbs, 1 stick of melted butter, 1C semi sweet chocolate chips, 1C butterscotch chips, 1C shredded coconut, 1/2C chopped pecans, 1 (14 oz can sweetened condensed milk). In med bowl mix your Graham cracker crumbs w/ your melted butter and spread into your 9x12 pan. At this point just layer the dry ingredient. Then pour the sweetened condensed milk over top and put in oven for 30 minutes. Allow to cool. That's it! Enjoy!

Louis's Jambalaya

Since we can't be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, I decided we could celebrate here in Ohio. My hubby and his family are from the South and spent time in New Orleans and Metairie, so I asked my father-n-law, who just happens to be an awesome cook, if he had a recipe for Jambalaya. The recipe he gave me was awesome, not only b/c it tasted fabulous, but because it made me think!! Here's how it goes: 1 large onion, 1 large bell pepper, 3 stalks celery, 2 cans diced tomatoes, 2 cups chicken stock, 1 cup rice, meat (sausage, chicken or other), 2 bay leaves, spices ( paprika thyme parsley worchestershire cayenne tabasco salt pepper Tony Chaceres) tomato paste if necessary.


Sauté trinity in olive oil, add chicken stock meat and spices, add 1 to 2 cups water, add rice. Cook until rice is plump. You want it just a little moist - not wet not dry. Sometimes I let it cook for 3 hours on low.

What I love about his recipe is that it was up to me to figure out the seasonings and moisture based on my taste. I'm sure that the amt of seasonings and liquids that I added are probably different than my Pops, but overall I think that he would approve.  Although, I think next time I will check and stir the Jambalaya while cooking, b/c my rice was a bit toothsome. I've never made Jambalaya, so I cooked it like I would cook rice, "cover and cook until done-and don't check".  Oh, yeah I chose to use a combo of Andouille Sausage, chicken breast and chicken thighs. Thank you Pops for sharing your recipe and knowledge. I will be in touch to get your gumbo and creole recipes.

Hotdogs- Casing or No Casing?

As a kid I was not a hot dog fan, but now I know why? It has to do with the "skin" or the casing. Most hotdogs available at your local market have no casing. I find that the dogs w/o the casing have a mushy texture. I really like my food to have texture and complexity.  I've only been able to find "Boars Head" hotdogs thus far at my local market w/ the casing and they are awesome. In my opinion you should grill them on a grill pan or on the gas or charcoal grill. When you bite into the hotdog you will hear and feel this pop of the casing breaking in your mouth. Trust me the hotdogs w/ the casing are far better than those w/o, but that's just my opinion. You compare and let me know what you think. BTW, the photo shows the hotdog w/ the casing on the left and w/o on the right. Oh yeah, I also wrapped a slice of peppered bacon around mine and grilled them and added some chopped red onion, chopped jalapenos and a little spicy mustard.  The hotdog w/ the casing still wins naked or dressed up.  You be the judge.

Rachael Ray Turkey Goulash/Paprikash

Turkey Paprikash 

I've tried a lot of Rachael Ray's recipes, but by far this recipe is one of my all time favorites.   It's soooo easy, it's really yummy and it's healthy.  If you want to try the recipe just click here and it will take you directly to it.  Just an FYI, if you don't have marjoram no worries you can substitute oregano.  Also, I've made it with the dill and without and I don't think it really added anything to it, so it's up to you if you want to add it.  Also, don't get hung up on the elbow mac, try a mini pasta. I've used mini ziti, mini fusilli, mini penne and mini farfalle too, they all work great.  Anyway, try this dish, I'm serious it really is tasty and really only takes 30 minutes.

Grilled Chicken Breast with Spinach, Mushrooms & Linguini

I had some chicken breast in the refrigerator, so tonight I decided we would do something simple but loaded with flavor.  What's great about chicken and pasta is that they are a blank canvas, and you could really do whatever you wanted with it.  Tonight I went with an Italian flair, but I've also gone spanish, asian and even Indian with curry. Let's get started.  First I got my water boiling for my pasta.  While that was going I got out my grill pan and a large skillet.  I put about 1-2 tbs of Olive Oil in both pans and heated them on medium.  I took my boneless, skinless chicken breast from the frig and generously seasoned them with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper and I drizzled them with olive oil.  I placed them on the heated grill pan (you should hear a nice long hiss when you place them in the pan) and I seared them for 7 minutes on the first side.  While those were searing I chopped a handful of fresh flat leaf parsley basil and set aside for the pasta.  I minced 5 garlic cloves (we love garlic), sliced a 10 oz pkg of cremini mushrooms, and I placed them in the other skillet, seasoned them with kosher salt and sauted them for about 7 minutes until the mushrooms became tender.   I then added 1/4 C chicken stock to the skillet along with a  bag of fresh spinach and sauted everything until the spinach wilted and I turned the heat off.  At this point I flipped the chicken to the other side and continue to sear them for another 7 minutes.  I cooked the chicken until it reached an internal temp of 165-170 then  I removed them, placed them in the skillet with the mushrooms and spinach and just covered it. Just a few minutes before my pasta finished cooking I removed the chicken breasts from the skillet and and sliced them on the bias and set them aside. I reserved 3/4 C of the pasta water, removed my pasta from the water and poured it into a large bowl that had the parsley, basil, tbs butter, 1tbs olive oil, and S&P and I tossed it all together.  I always reserve some of the pasta water to add to the pasta so that it will keep it from sticking together. I plated the pasta, added the mushroom, garlic and spinach over the top and then I added the sliced chicken breasts over that and sprinkled with some parmegiano reggiano.  Buen Appetito!!

Tex Mex Tuesday

I don't know about you, but I love Tex Mex and Mexican flavors.  I could eat it every nite.  Tonight I just threw this together fairly quickly while watching the food network.  I took some ground sirloin, some rice, and those leftover beans and created something that I thought was really tasty, very easy and fairly quick. I started out by making my seasoning for the beef, if I'm in a hurry I will by a package of taco seasoning, but those are just loaded with salt.  Anyway, for the seasoning you will need (please note that you won't need all of this for this dish, so safe it for later use):  1tbs chili powder, 3 tbs cumin, 1 tbs paprika, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp granulated garlic, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp coriander, 3 tsp Kosher salt and 1 tbs corn starch.  Put all the ingredients in a ziploc bag and shake it up and set aside.  For my rice, I took 1 C of basmati rice, 1.5 C chicken stock, 1/2 tsp turmeric (gives it the yellow color) and 2 tsp salt.  I added all to  a medium pot, brought to a boil, covered the pot, reduced heat and simmered for 20 minutes.  While your rice is cooking, go ahead and chop one jalapeno, 1/4 red pepper, 1 small red onion, 1 handful of cilantro and mash 1 Avocado (go ahead and squeeze the juice of 1/2 lime onto the mashed avocado-will keep from turning brown.)  Now go ahead and add your ground sirloin, jalapeno, red pepper and 3/4 of the chopped onion to a large skillet.  Reserve the rest of the onion for a garnish along with the cilantro.  Brown your beef/veg mix over medium heat and stir it occassionally breaking the beef  into small pieces.  Once the beef is browned add 3 tbs of your spice mixture to the skillet and thoroughly mix in with the beef and veggies and cook about 2 minutes.  Add 1/2 C of beef broth or water and cook down until your mixture is the consistency of a sloppy joe mix.  Now for the beans, you can buy canned refried beans, but I had soup beans leftover, so  I took about 3 C of the beans and put them into a small sauce pan and heated them over med heat until they had a low boil going.  I then took my immersion blender and blended the beans to a smooth consistency and cooked them down until they were a thick creamy texture. That's all there was too it.  I added a little sour cream, my avocado, some grated mexican cheese and garnished with cilantro and the remaining red onion.  Let's Eat!!