I know I haven't posted any new recipes in a while! It isn't because I haven't been cooking (I cook every day). I just really haven't had time to take pictures and post my recipes. I did just post a new one today, however, for Chicken Cacciatore. It is a delicious dish so you should try it. I baked 3 cakes last night (with the help of my daughter, Lindsey, who by the way is so creative)! I will try to have those recipes and pictures posted in a week or so.
CHICKEN CACCIATORE
INGREDIENTS:
- 6-8 whole Chicken Thighs, Skin On (can use any whole chicken pieces)
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 T Olive Oil
- 2 T Butter
- 1 whole Medium Onion, halved & sliced
- 2 Cloves Garlic (minced)
- 2 whole Red Bell Peppers, cored and sliced (not too thin)
- 2 whole Green Bell Peppers, cored and sliced (not too thin)
- 12 ounces Mushrooms, sliced (white or Crimini)
- 1/2 t ground Thyme
- 1/2 t Turmeric
- 1/2 t Kosher Salt
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 can (28 oz) Whole or Diced Tomatoes, with juice
- 1 lb Egg Noodles
- Chopped, flat leaf parsley (if you have some)
- Parmesan Cheese, for sprinkling
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cook noodles according to pkg. directions. Do not overcook! Drain and set aside.
Salt & pepper both sides of chicken and dredge in flour. Heat olive oil & butter in a heavy skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place chicken skin side down in pan, four pieces at a time. Brown chicken on both sides then remove to a clean plate. Repeat with remaining chicken. Pour off half the fat in the pan & discard. Add sliced onions, peppers & garlic to pan. Stir around for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and stir around for 1 minute. Add thyme, turmeric & salt and extra black pepper to taste. Stir in chicken broth & allow to bubble. Pour in canned tomatoes and stir to combine. Add chicken to pan, skin side up, without totally submerging the chicken as you want the skin to retain its crispness. Place lid o the pot and place in oven. Cook for 45 minutes. Remove the lid and increase heat to 375. Cook for an additional 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Remove chicken from pan and place it on a plate. Remove vegetables from pan and place them on a plate. Return pot to burner and turn heat to medium high. Cook and reduce sauce for a couple of minutes. Pour cooked, drained noodles on a large platter or in a big serving bowl. Add vegetables all over the top, then place chicken pieces on top of the vegetables. Spoon reduced sauce over the chicken and pasta. Before serving, sprinkle on chopped fresh parsley and grated Parmesan.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hr. 15 min.
Servings: 6
I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman's website (thepioneerwoman.com). Ree provides pictures for you on this site so if you're a visual person just go to this site, open the "cooking" tab and search for Chicken Cacciatore. This is a delicious dish and even though the list of ingredients might make you think it's complicated, believe me when I say it is not. You could even prepare your veggies a day ahead if you wanted to save a little time.
GARDEN ROTINI WITH GRILLED ZUCCHINI & CHICKEN
With tomatoes & zucchini at their peak now is the perfect time to make this dish! My oldest daughter sent the recipe blog to me. It's from eatathomecooks.com so you can just head there to get the recipe. I substituted whole wheat Rotini for the Garden Rotini, which I prefer. I also made and used her recipe for homemade seasoned salt and I think that really made this dish! Since it's so hot I didn't want to light the grill for 2 chicken breasts (I halved the recipe), so I just pulled out my George Foreman to grill the chicken breasts and zucchini. It was so easy. I can't wait for Richard to get home so we can eat! Even if you don't make the dish you should make the seasoned salt. I picked up the spices I didn't have at the dollar store @ 2 for $1! Can't beat that!BURRITOS, QUESADILLAS & PICO DE GALLO
We had ourselves a Mexican Feast tonight. The Burritos were some I made a while back & froze (there were 3 of them). Katie made the Quesadillas from stuff we had in the fridge. Some were chicken & cheese from leftover rotisserie chicken others were made using red bell pepper & onion that she sauteed. I also made a big bowl of Pico de Gallo. It was really, really good!BURRITOS
Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Beef
1 can (15.5 oz) Mexican or Pinto Beans
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped Green Chillis
1 can (15.5 oz) Enchilada Sauce, Red
1 package Taco Seasoning Mix
8 oz Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
8 oz Cheddar Cheese, shredded
8 Flour Tortillas, med-large (burrito size)
Directions:
Brown the ground beef. Before you drain the fat, stir in the dry taco seasoning mix. Simmer 5 min. then drain. Combine beans, chillis, beef, 1/2 the can of enchilada sauce, 3/4 of the Monterey Jack & Cheddar cheeses in a large pan. Cook over low heat until cheeses are melted and mixture is thick. Microwave tortillas until slightly softened. Fill the middle of the tortillas with mixture and place in a baking dish and fold. (Note: I just folded mine in half but you could fold each side in and then roll up like a traditional burrito.) Spread remaining enchilada sauce over top & sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Cover with foil. At this point you could either freeze or bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Depending on the size of your family you could cook 4 and freeze 4 or double the recipe and freeze one entire batch. When you're ready to eat the frozen burritos, remove from freezer to fridge the night before and bake as directed above. If you forget to take them out of the freezer just bake for about an hour from frozen state (that's what I did).
QUESADILLAS
Just use whatever ingredients you have on hand plus some cheese. Katie layered the bottom tortilla with the ingredients and topped with another tortilla and cooked in a non-stick pan on top of the stove on medium heat. Once the bottom browns flip the tortilla over and let that side brown slightly. You just want to make sure everything has heated up and the cheese has melted. She used a pizza cutter and cut into fourths! Of course, it goes without saying to serve this up with sour cream and salsa or some of the pico!
PICO DE GALLO
I have posted this recipe before but basically you just chop up equal amounts of tomato, onion & cilantro; add 1 or 2 finely chopped jalapeno peppers that you've seeded & removed the white membrane from and mix. Squeeze 1/2 lime over this and add salt to taste.
FRENCH STYLE YOGURT CAKE WITH LEMON
This is the cake Katie made the other night for dessert. If you're a lover of all things lemon you need to make this cake!INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE CAKE:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
Pinch of Salt
2 t grated lemon zest
1/2 cup well-stirred plain whole-milk yogurt (not low or no fat)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
FOR THE SYRUP
1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup lemon juice
FOR THE ICING
1 cup powdered sugar sifted
3 T lemon juice
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9" round cake pan with butter or cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper, and grease it too. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the lemon zest and whisk to mix thoroughly. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, and eggs, stirring to mix well. Add the flour mixture and stir to just combine. Add the oil and stir well. At first, it will look like a horrible, oily mess, but keep going, and it will come together into a smooth, pale yellow batter. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not overbake. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan, and invert the cake onto a wide, flat plate or pan. Remove and discard the parchment paper. Invert the cake back onto the rack so that it sits upright, with the shinier, slightly domed side facing up. Set the rack over a rimmed baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk together the syrup ingredients. Spoon the syrup slowly on top of the warm cake. Some of the syrup will run down the sides and onto the baking sheet; don't worry. Cool completely. In a small bowl, combine the icing ingredients. Whisk well to dissolve the sugar completely. Spoon the icing over the cooled cake. Serve immediately - the icing will be soft and a bit juicy - or wait until the icing has firmed up, about 1 hour. Whichever way you like! Or however long you can wait!
BUFFALO CHICKEN JALAPENO POPPERS & CARAMELIZED CAULIFLOWER WITH SALSA VERDE
Katie made the Buffalo Chicken Jalapeno Poppers and I prepared the Cauliflower! I cannot begin to tell you how good this was. The "poppers" are supposed to be served as an appetizer but we had as our main course! I think we ended up with 18. The 3 of us ate and there were enough left over for Richard & I both to take for lunch the next day. To give you an idea on just how good these were, Richard never takes his lunch! While we were eating he said "if there are any left I'll take for lunch!"Katie topped mine with blue cheese cause I really love blue cheese. The rest she topped with feta and/or Monterey Jack.
If you like cauliflower, you will love it roasted this way! And the Salsa Verde . . . well it is just delicious!
BUFFALO CHICKEN JALAPENO POPPERS
Ingredients:
18-20 Jalapeno peppers
1/3 cup hot sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot
2 T butter
2 cups of Rotisserie chicken, shredded (remove skin & bones)
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup Blue cheese crumbles or Feta or whatever you like!
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425 F
Working lengthwise, slice off the top quarter of each jalapeno. Using a small spoon or paring knife, scrape the seeds and ribs out of each pepper. (One important note here, make sure you use gloves, we did not and our hands are still burning the next day!)
Place a small saucepan over low heat. Add hot sauce and whisk in the butter until melted. In a medium size bowl, combine the chicken, celery, Monterey Jack cheese and half of the blue cheese. Pour hot sauce into mixture and combine well.
Scoop some of the chicken mixture into each of the peppers, filling them all up. Lightly mound the chicken into each pepper. Place the peppers into a baking dish and top with the remaining blue cheese or whatever cheese you've chosen.
Bake the peppers until tender and heated through, about 15 minutes. Serve Warm.
CARAMELIZED CAULIFLOWER WITH SALSA VERDE
For the Salsa Verde:
Ingredients:
1 medium jalapeno, ribs & seeds removed, finely chopped
3 T finely chopped cilantro leaves
2 medium cloves of garlic, minced with a pinch of salt
3 T fresh lime juice
4 T olive oil
Salt to taste
For the Cauliflower:
Ingredients:
1 medium cauliflower ( 2 to 2 1/2 lbs)
2 to 3 T olive oil
Salt to taste
First, prepare the Salsa Verde. In a small bowl, combine the jalapeno, cilantro, garlic, lime juice and olive oil and whisk to combine. Add two pinches of salt, or more, to taste, and whisk well, Set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, F.
Wash & dry the cauliflower well. Put it on a cutting board, stem side down and slice it vertically, top down, into 1/4-inch slices. You'll get 3-4 intact slices and the rest will be a hash of cauliflower crumbs. That's okay. Put the cauliflower in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil. (Your hands will work best for this). You want each little bit of cauliflower to get a thin coat of oil. Spread the cauliflower in a single layer on a heavy sheet pan, or if the pan seems crowded, use 2 pans. You don't want it packed too tightly, or the cauliflower will steam rather than roast. Salt it lightly.
Bake until the cauliflower is tender, golden, and even deeply browned in spots, 20 to 30 minutes, turning once with a spatulal. Salt lightly again.
Serve cauliflower hot or warm, with salsa verde on the side for drizzling.
CHICKEN SOUVLAKI PITA WITH TZATZIKI
When I decided to title my blog "Cooking . . . It's a Family Thing," it was right on. In my household anyway! This is my daughter, Lindsey's, recipe. The pita pockets are also homemade, by her and I prepared the homemade baked fries! I'm so glad all of my offspring love to cook. If my son, Matthew, had been there he would have contributed something to the meal as well. Katie, my youngest, as I've said before is my baker! She made Yogurt Lemon Cake for our dessert. This is such a good, light meal, especially for the summer. Even if you don't make your own pitas, you should try this!INGREDIENTS
1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
4 t Greek Seasoning (we found this at Fresh Market. It's in a packet like Italian Dressing mix)
4 T Olive Oil
12, ounces, weight drained, Non-fat Plain Yogurt
1 whole Cucumber, chopped
1/2 whole Yellow Onion, chopped
2 t Lemon juice
Salt & Pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
Most of this recipe is in the prep. You marinate the chicken for several hours before you grill. I did mine the night before.
Pound out the chicken breasts until they are about 1/2 inch thick. Rub down with olive oil then season both sides generously with the Greek seasoning. Wrap the chicken in cling wrap and refrigerate for several hours. Grill for about 3 minutes on each side (or until done). Let sit for a minute or two and then slice into strips.
The night before you plan to serve this dish, place 12 oz of plain yogurt in a coffee filter then set in a mesh colander set over a bowl and drain in the fridge overnight. This just makes the sauce thicker. You could forego this step by using Greek Yogurt.
Chop up the cucumber and onion and mix with the drained yogurt, add the lemon juice and salt & pepper to taste. This is the Tzatziki!
Place grilled chicken strips and tzatziki into warmed pitas. We also added chopped tomatoes and shredded lettuce to ours!
This recipe serves six. If you do all the prep work the night before, cook time is about 15 min total.
For the oven baked french fries, just wash, dry and slice your potatoes. Toss with olive oil and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinke with sea salt or seasoning salt and bake in a 450 oven till they are a nice golden brown and fork tender.
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