Monthly Archives: April 2011

Apr 30 2011
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Easy & Spicy Chicken Tacos

Stress level is still high in the house as Jon gears up for finals week, so dinner duty has been on me. I don’t like spending a lot of time in the kitchen and I hate going to the store, so using our leftover ingredients from the big salads we had this week and some random items in the fridge, I made easy and spicy tacos that turned out better than expected.

Ingredients:

  • 2 chicken breasts, sliced
  • 1 packet of guacamole seasoning
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped coarsely
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • corn and flour tortillas
  • salsa
  • taco sauce
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon Sriracha
Preparation:
Grill the chicken on indoor or outdoor grill  until just browned. Slice chicken into 1/4-inch wide strips and place in skillet with vegetable oil. Cook for 1-2 minutes until juices are bubbling. Add gaucamole seasoning and Sriracha. Mix well, reduce heat, cover and cook until chicken is cooked through (5 mins). Using a spatula, break up the chicken into smaller, taco-appropriate, pieces. While the chicken in cooking, get to chopping those veggies. To warm your tortillas, place a damp paper towel in the bottom of a bowl with a lid. Insert no more than 3 tortillas into bowl, cover with another damp paper towel, cover and microwave for 30 seconds. There are various ways to warm your tortillas, but this is the quickest.

Assemble tacos to your liking. I prefer flour tortillas, lots of cilantro and taco sauce. Jon prefers corn tortillas, more onions and no sauce. You can also use sour cream and shredded cheese, but we didn’t have any in the house.
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Apr 27 2011
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We Eat Well

Sesame Soy Chicken Salad with Sriracha

When I called Jon on my way home from work today, I could hear it in his voice- major stress overload- and he said, “I am looking in the fridge trying to figure out what to eat.”

“What do we have?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

Sigh. That meant I needed to stop by the grocery store and I had no idea what to get. He quicky read what we did have in the fridge: cauliflower, broccoli, red peppers, spinach, scallions, and thawing chicken breasts. “Okay,” I said, still without a clue what I would get at the store. I ended up with some mixed greens, 2 Roma tomatoes and a bottle of Moscato and whipped up one of the best salads we’ve ever had.

As I have stated before, I am not one for using recipes. I like to wing it. For this salad you can use whatever greens and veggies you’d like. I used spinach, arugula, a spring mix, broccoli, cauliflower, red peppers, scallions, and tomatoes and chopped them all up. Then, I sliced the chicken and sautéed it over medium heat with sesame oil, salt, pepper and some fresh thyme. Once all sides were browned, I added a dash of Sriracha for some heat, covered and turned to low.

For the dressing, I used 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 2 teaspoons of sugar, whisked together.

I assembled salad, sprinkled with feta cheese and drizzled with dressing. Voilà! Done in under 20 minutes.

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Apr 25 2011
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South African Lamb Meatloaf (Bobotie) with Cilantro Chutney

I will admit it. I had my doubts. Besides the lamb, not much else sounded appetizing about this meatloaf. “You are really gonna make a meatloaf with all of that fruit and an egg?” Ick. I was soooo wrong. This may be, hands down, the best dish Jon has ever prepared. The texture of the lamb and almonds, combined with the flavor of the raisins, apples, curry and lemon is out-of-this-world good. It’s like eating an Indian dish with all of the intense flavors, wrapped neatly into a small little package. And I haven’t even mentioned the cilantro chutney! Wow. You really do have to try this. According to Jon, it’s easy to make, which is good because I will be requesting this often- perhaps next time I can convince him to throw some green olives into the mix.

South African Lamb Meatloaf

  • 1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices firm white sandwich bread)
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 2 medium onions, finely chopped (2 cups)
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup raisins (1 1/2 ounce)
  • 1/4 cup slivered blanched almonds (1 ounce)
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder (preferably Madras)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 lb ground lamb or beef (not lean)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl until very soft, about 15 minutes, then drain in a sieve set over a bowl, lightly pressing to remove excess milk. Reserve milk.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter baking dish.

Cook onions, apple, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until onions and apple are softened, about 12 minutes (do not brown). Add raisins, almonds, curry powder, and sugar and cook, stirring, 1 minute, then remove from heat. Lightly beat 1 egg in a large bowl, then add bread crumbs, lamb or beef, raisin mixture, lemon juice and zest, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and pepper and blend with your hands until combined well; do not overmix. Spread meat mixture evenly in baking dish and bake 30 minutes.

While meatloaf bakes, whisk together remaining 2 eggs, reserved milk, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Pour off excess fat from meatloaf (still in baking dish). Pour egg mixture over meatloaf (much of egg will fill space that has formed around meatloaf), then return to oven and bake until custard is just set, about 15 minutes more.

Cilantro Chutney

  • 6 scallions, coarsely chopped
  • 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped small hot green chile, such as serrano or Thai, including seeds
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Purée all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Recommendations:
If you don’t like cilantro, you can leave it out of the above recipe, or you can try pairing this meatloaf with a mango chutney.
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Apr 25 2011
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Scrumptious Butter Cookies

Saturday evening Jon baked up a storm while I was out with the girls. What a sweetheart! And these cookies are excellent! Light, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, delightful!

  • 1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespon almond extract
  • 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
  • About 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cups sliced almonds

In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat 1 cup butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg yolk, almond extract, and orange peel and beat until well blended.

In another bowl, mix 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture; stir to mix, then beat until well blended. Gather dough into a ball, divide in half, and flatten each portion into a disk; wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until firm enough to roll without sticking, about 30 minutes.

Unwrap dough. Use a spoon to scoop dough and form one inch balls with your hands. Roll balls in sugar and then dip the top half in chopped almond slivers. Place about 2 inches apart on buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheets and flattened with the bottom of a glass.

Bake cookies in a 325º regular or convection oven until lightly browned, about 15 minutes; if baking two sheets at once in one oven, switch their positions halfway through cooking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide spatula to transfer to racks to cool completely.

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Apr 24 2011
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Chicken with Pineapple Jalapeño Salsa

The past few weeks have been hectic. With all of the traveling back to Illinois, we haven’t been cooking much, which means we’ve been eating crap food. And boy could I tell. I was craving some home cooking and fresh vegetables, so today Jon cooked up a juicy chicken breast with pineapple jalapeño salsa with fresh steamed spinach. One bite in, I was in heaven; however I must warn you that the salsa has a kick!

Chicken with Pineapple Jalapeño Salsa

  • 1/4 cup pineapple puree
  • 2 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 3/4 cup 1/4-inch cubes fresh pineapple
  • 3 tablespoons finely diced red bell pepper
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons canned sliced jalapeño chiles, drained, coarsely chopped
  • 4 boneless chicken breast halves (1 3/4 pounds total)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bring pineapple puree, brown sugar, and mustard to boil in small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil until glaze has thickened slightly, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix pineapple, red pepper, cilantro, onion, and chiles in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Place chicken in baking dish, season with salt and pepper, and brush with glaze. Bake 15 minutes. Brush again with glaze, then broil until cooked through and golden, watching closely to avoid burning, about 5 minutes longer. Let rest 5 minutes.

Spoon salsa over chicken and serve.

Spinach

Bring 2 cups water to a boil in medium saucepan. Place the fresh spinach in a sauce pan with water and 1 chicken bouillon. Add 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and cover for 5 minutes.

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Apr 09 2011
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Mexican Ceviche

We’ve been wanting to try Ceviche for a long time, so tonight was the night. It was definitely worth the wait. This may be my new favorite dish. It’s super easy to make and is the perfect dish for our first REAL spring day.

 

  • 1 lb tilapia
  • 5 -6 limes (Enough Juice to cover fish)
  • 1 cup diced fresh tomato
  • 1 green pepper chopped
  • 4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (or more to suit your taste)
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 dash Sriracha
  • avocado
  • black olives sliced (for garnish)

    •  

    Dice the fish (approximately 1/2-inch dice if using shrimp use cleaned shrimp). Marinate fish in the lime juice in the fridge overnight (this step cooks the fish). Stir often.

    Pour off most of the lime juice (just leave it moist). Add remaining ingredients except lettuce, avocado and olive. Do this preferably a few hours before serving & refrigerate. Toss well and arrange in individual serving bowls that are lined with the lettuce leaves. If you wish garnish with sliced avocado and sliced black olives.

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    Apr 09 2011
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    Saturday Morning French Toast

    Jon has a way of making even a typical Saturday morning special. How did I get so lucky?

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    Apr 08 2011
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    Roasted Winter Squash & Parsnips with Maple Syrup Glaze

    Unfortunately, it took getting sick for me to find a moment to blog. It’s been a hectic few weeks for us and we haven’t been cooking very much, which means we haven’t been eating very well. We did enjoy a nice dinner Wednesday evening: steak, asparagus and a scrumptious roasted squash dish. Jon wanted to grill out, only to find we were out of gas. Bummer. He did manage to grill the steaks on our indoor grill, and though not the same, it was still pretty tasty.

    Roasted Winter Squash and Parsnips with Maple Syrup Glaze and Almonds

  • 2 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled kabocha squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  • 2 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  • 2 cups 1/4- to 1/3-inch cubes peeled parsnips (about 12 ounces)
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup coarsely chopped almonds (about 3 1/2 ounces)


    • Butter 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Combine kabocha and butternut squash and parsnips in large bowl. Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in next 5 ingredients. Add to squash mixture and toss to coat. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before continuing.

    Preheat oven to 375°F. Cover squash mixture with foil. Bake covered 40 minutes. Uncover; bake until all vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes longer. Sprinkle with almonds and bake 10 minutes.

    *Recipe adapted from Epicurious

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