Recipe #15 - Baked Corn on the Cob

I do realize that I've more or less disappeared lately... I haven't slowed down on trying new recipes though! I have a few to catch up on.

Corn is a really popular vegetable in our house. During the spring/summer months, I like buying the ears of corn at the grocery store, rather than canned. Something about it just seems... fun?? Anyway, we ran out of propane for the grill, so I was in need of an alternative way to cook them.

Ingredients:
*Ear(s) of corn, cleaned and completely free of husks and silk fibers
*Foil square
*Butter
*Salt
*Pepper
*any other seasonings, to taste

Preheat the oven to 425. Butter and season the foil squares. Place one ear of corn per foil square, and wrap the corn. I usually wrap it a little loose, but still closed. Bake approximately 30 to 40 minutes, until corn is soft, turning over once halfway through.

Enjoy!! TTFN!

Recipe #9 - Chicken Avocado Melt

This recipe we just had tonight! It's really good, and pretty easy to make. I love avocados, and quite honestly, I thought they were what made the dish so good. Even Rusty ate the avocados!! :)

Ingredients:
*4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
*2/3 cup cornstarch
*2 tsp ground cumin
*2 tsp garlic powder
*2 tsp salt
*1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
*1 egg
*2 tblsp water
*1/2 cup cornmeal
*1/4 cup vegetable oil
*1 medium avocado, thinly sliced
*shredded cheese

Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness, set aside on a large plate. Combine the cornstarch, cumin, garlic powder, salt and cayenne pepper in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, combine the egg and water and beat. Dip the chicken first in the egg, then into the cornstarch mixture, and back onto the plate. Coat with cornmeal.

**Note: If you don't have a skillet large enough for all of the chicken at once, you can do this next step in two batches.** In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken, until it's golden brown on both sides - about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Place the chicken into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Top each piece of chicken with the sliced avocado. Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes, or until juices run clear. Sprinkle with cheese, and serve.

The original recipe (from The Best of Country Cooking 1998) calls for half of the amounts shown above for the cornstarch, cumin, garlic powder, salt and cayenne pepper. I ran out of the coating mixture and wasn't able to coat my chicken as much as I would've liked to. I'm OK with throwing out a little extra, just to make sure I have plenty to use. If you find this to be too much for your preference, these ingredients can be cut in half.

I loved how tender the chicken was. The coating wasn't crispy, like I thought it might be. I'm not sure why I expected it to be that way. My favorite bites were those topped with avocado. I thought just the chicken needed a little more flavor, but I'm hoping that having the extra coating (by doubling that part of the recipe next time) will help out.

Overall, this recipe was really good and will get made again in this house! :)

TTFN!

Recipe #8 - Baked Potato Soup

Please forgive me - I'm catching up on posting the recent recipes I've tried. :)



Last weekend when we were planning our dinners, we wanted something nice and warm, since the week was predicted to be cold and rainy. Since Rusty is pretty picky, it's hard to find a good soup recipe that he'll actually eat, versus just picking at. I found a Baked Potato Soup recipe in The Best of Country Cooking 1999 that I thought I'd give a try!!

Ingredients:
*2 medium potatoes, baked and cooled
*1 can (14.5 oz) of chicken broth
*2 tblsp of sour cream
*1/8 tsp of pepper
*any baked potato toppings you prefer

Peel potatoes and cut them into small 1/2 inch cubes. Place half of the cubes, along with the chicken broth, into a blender or food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into the sauce pan, along with the remaining potato cubes and sour cream. Cook over low heat until thoroughly heated. Garnish the soup as you desire with baked potato toppings.

My first recommendation is that you shouldn't plan to have leftovers... they don't reheat well. Second, I'd use more spices. It was good, but kind of bland. I've tried another potato soup recipe a long time ago that I prefer over this one, but I have no idea where I got it, or if I still have it. :) I served the soup with small Hawaiian rolls. Their sweetness was a great companion for the flavor of the soup.

TTFN!

Recipe #7 - Mexican Beef Stir Fry

I'm not a huge fan of cooking beef at home (other than roasts and hamburger meat) only because I find that it's hard for it to be perfect, and it matters to me how it comes out. I'd rather not cook "ok" beef - I'd rather do without and leave it up to the professionals to get it right. Maybe I just need to keep working on it... :)

This recipe was good, and easy, but won't be at the front of the line when I'm ready to start repeating some of these new recipes I've found this year. It's been about 10 days since I actually tried this recipe, and I can't remember for sure exactly what kind of beef I used. I'm thinking I might not have used the best variety, only because of the outcome. More to come on that later, though.

Ingredients:
*1 pound of beef flank steak
*2 tblsp of vegetable oil
*1 tsp ground cumin
*1 tsp garlic salt
*1 tsp dried oregano leaves
*1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
*1 medium onion, chopped
*1 to 2 jalapenos, seeded and cut into slivers

Cut flank steak diagonally across the grain into 1/8 inch thick slices. Combine the oil, cumin, salt and oregano in a small bowl. Put 1 tablespoon of the mixture into a frying pan over medium-high heat, until hot. Add the vegetables and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender crisp. Remove from pan. Pour remaining oil mixture into frying pan, and stir fry the beef (half at a time) for 1 to 2 minutes. Once all of the meat is cooked, add vegetables back to pan and heat thoroughly.

I used some flank steak (I think...) that was pre-sliced. I wonder if it made it less tender, because it was quite chewy (in my opinion). If it wasn't that, then I over cooked it. 1 to 2 minutes to cook the beef didn't seem like very long, and it was still way too red for my preference. It's very possible that I could have overcooked it, but we'll know for sure next time once I buy the meat specifically stated in the recipe.

I served the stir fry over tortillas, to give it a fajita twist. The flavor of the veggies and meat were wonderful! I just didn't appreciate the chewiness. As a side, I added some pinto beans that simmered with fresh jalapeno pepper chopped up in them. Meh... Note to self - I don't think I let them simmer long enough...



By the way, this recipe came from Great American Favorite Brand Name Cookbook, Collector's Edition. I haven't tried too many things from this book yet - it's a massive cookbook and is a little overwhelming!! :)

TTFN!

Recipe #6 - Skillet Bow Tie Lasagna

YUMMY!! Rusty and I really like lasagna. It just makes so much and takes quite a bit of effort. I think it'll be a pretty big battle to see if my traditional lasagna recipe holds up versus this one. This recipe was so easy to make! I was also left with just enough for a small leftover portion, rather than 2/3 of an entire lasagna! (This is yet another recipe I got out of The Best of Country Cooking 2001.)

Ingredients:
*1 lb of ground beef or turkey
*1 small onion, chopped
*1 garlic clove, minced
*1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
*1.5 cups water
*1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
*1 tblsp dried parsley flakes
*2 tsp dried oregano
*1 tsp salt
*2.5 cups uncooked bow tie pasta
*3/4 cup small curd cottage cheese
*1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, cook the beef or turkey, onion and garlic until meat is no longer pink. Drain. Add the tomatoes, water, tomato paste, parsley, oregano and salt. Mix well. Stir in pasta and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover for 18-20 minutes, or until pasta is tender, stirring once about half way through. Mix the cheeses together in a separate bowl and set aside. Once the pasta is tender, stir once more. Drop cheese mixture on top of pasta/meat mixture by the spoonful - do not stir. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

My variations:
I did not use an onion - Rusty and I don't prefer them. :) On the diced tomatoes, I actually used the food processor to grind them up. Our preference is for a smoother sauce (rather than chunky).

What I'll change next time:
I think I'll use a little more pasta than it calls for... probably 2.75 to 3 cups. It was VERY meaty/saucy and I would've liked the pasta to stand out just a little bit more. I'll also use just a slightly less amount of water, since I grind up the diced tomatoes.

Overall, I was VERY impressed with this recipe, and I'll definitely be making it again!!



TTFN!

Recipe #5 - Pecan Chicken with Seasoned Potatoes

This one is a two-fer!! The chicken was ok - Rusty LOVED it! Plus, it was really easy. I LOVED the potatoes - they were my favorite part! Several years ago, my mom cleaned out a lot of her cookbooks and I ended up with them... This one is from the Best of Country Cooking, 2001. (I will add - one thing that kind of stinks about going through cookbooks that are 10+ years old is that they don't have a lot of our current day mentalities of "light" or healthy. I've had a pretty hard time of using old fashion cookbooks yet still finding a nice meal that isn't an overload on the calories.)



The Main Course - Pecan Chicken
Ingredients:
*1/3 c finely chopped pecans
*1/3 c dry bread crumbs
*1/2 tsp dried thyme
*1/2 tsp paprika
*1/2 tsp salt
*4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
*3 tblsp dijon mustard

Combine the pecans, bread crumbs, thyme, paprika and salt in a bowl. Coat chicken with mustard, then dip into pecan mixture. Place the coated chicken pieces in a greased baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 30-40 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about the mustard flavor, but to be honest, it wasn't very strong. It gave it almost a sweet taste once it was done. The pecan mixture didn't stick very well to the chicken (not sure if I should've used more mustard??). After I coated the chickens and placed them in the baking dish, I dumped what was left of the pecan mixture on top of the chickens, just to give them a little thicker top coat.

Seasoned Potatoes
First of all, this recipe is only for 2 people. If you're cooking for more, you'll definitely need to increase the size. Second, I've NEVER used canned potatoes to cook with before, and I completely felt like I was cheating by using them. I will use them again though - they were so good!!

Ingredients:
*1 tblsp butter
*1 can (15 oz) small whole potatoes, drained
*1/4 tsp of any seasonings/spices you prefer

In a skillet, melt the butter of medium heat. Add the potatoes and sprinkle the seasonings over potatoes. I used just a little bit of garlic powder along with all purpose seasoning salt. Cook and stir for 15-18 minutes over low-medium heat until the potatoes are golden brown and soft. **Note - if the potatoes start to pop at all, lower the heat.**

Enjoy! TTFN

Recipe #4 - Special Lemony Chicken

The name is funny, huh? At least I thought it was. Anywho... I forgot to take a picture of this one, so I don't have anything to pin!! I even tried finding one online, but no such luck. I got this out of a cookbook I've had for a few years - it's called "Great American Favorite Brand Name Cookbook".

Over the past few weeks, I learned how much we (I) like pasta. It's so easy and versatile, plus Rylan will eat it. I'm really trying to find some non-pasta recipes, just to be different. It is tough since Rusty is such a picky eater. (It's not fair if I don't recognize that I can be picky, too - but Rusty is a LOT pickier than I am.) This was my first attempt at really branching out and trying something a little out of our "norm".

Ingredients:
*1/4 c unsifted flour
*1 tsp salt
*1/4 tsp pepper
*6 skinned boneless chicken breast halves
*1/4 c butter
*1/4 c lemon juice from concentrate
*8 oz freshly sliced mushrooms

In a plastic bag, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time. Shake to coat. (That's always my favorite part... especially after a long day at work!!) In a large skillet, let the butter just melt. Add the chicken and cook until it's brown on both sides. Add the lemon juice and mushrooms. Cover and reduce the heat. Allow this to cook until mushrooms are tender and chicken is fully cooked (about 15 minutes).

I actually also tried a lemon rice recipe to serve the chicken over. I didn't like it. It was way too dry. The rice got pretty sticky - it reminded me of the rice I was served from a large ice cream looking scoop in elementary school... you know when the rice never moved after the server would plop it on your plate? Yeah... I think just some plain, buttered rice would be perfect for this dish!

Rusty and I don't eat mushrooms, so I didn't cook with any. As for the chicken, it was quite lemony. Special, though? No, not really. I'm not dying to make this recipe again anytime soon, but I certainly will keep it on hand for a random day that I want something different. One other plus - the chicken was SOOO tender and juicy. I'll definitely try cooking the chicken this way again, and try some fun marinades and spices for different flavors.

Good luck! TTFN!

Recipe #3 - Cheesy Chicken Rotini

So this week, I actually tried 2 new recipes! I didn't like the first one (but the boys really did!) so I tried again with a 2nd recipe. I'll post the other one, eventually, but wanted to start with this one because it was SOOO good!!

I got the original recipe from www.kraftfoods.com. It really was very easy, and quite delicious! It makes a very large portion, so I would probably only make half of the recipe in the future. (We only ate about half the first night, which made for yummy leftovers!)

Ingredients:
*2 large chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
*2 cups of water
*3 cups rotini pasta, uncooked
*16 oz frozen veggies
*1 can (10oz) Rotel, undrained
*8oz of Velveeta (half of a small brick)

Variations:
*The original recipe calls for a broccoli, cauliflower and carrot blend. I used all broccoli, because that's what I prefer. I think use your favorite frozen vegetables. :)
*I used the original Rotel flavor. I really wanted to use Hot or Extra Hot, but I didn't think Rylan would eat it if it was too spicy. I bet some of the other Rotel flavors could give it a nice taste twist, too!
*Rather than leaving the Rotel chunky, I actually used a food processor to liquefy mine. The end result was a thinner, runnier sauce, rather than being thick, like Velveeta can often be.

One more note - if you're making the full recipe, use a very large skillet... maybe even a stock pot. (Make sure you have a lid to fit it!!) I found that my batch was almost overflowing from mine.

Spray the skillet or stock pot with a cooking spray, like Pam. Add chicken pieces. Cook over medium-high heat until the chicken is no longer pink (about 6-7 minutes). Add water to chicken. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and stir well. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 12 minutes until pasta is tender. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Cook covered until Velveeta is completely melted (about 8-10 minutes) stirring every couple of minutes.

I served it with some crescent rolls, and it was good eatin'! :) TTFN!

Recipe #2 - Buffalo Chicken Bites

Last night, we tried new recipe #2 of the year... Buffalo Chicken Bites. Here is where I originally got the recipe from: http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2011/09/24/buffalo-chicken-bites/. I did make a few adjustments, to better suit our preferences (and what I had). As a warning, this recipe is a little more labor intensive that I would've guessed... and it's pretty messy.

Ingredients (according to how I made them):
*4 cups of chicken, cooked and shredded (approx 2 large chicken breasts)
*2/3 c Frank's buffalo hot sauce (use less, for less "kick")
*4 2/3 reduced fat cream cheese, softened
*2 c sharp cheddar cheese, grated
*1 c all purpose flour
*4 eggs lightly beaten
*4 cups Corn Flakes, crushed

First, preheat the oven to 375. Bake the 2 large chicken breasts for approx 25 minutes (until no longer pink). Allow them to cool for approximately 10-15 minutes. Use two forks to separate/shred the chicken.

Line a large cookie sheet with either parchment paper or foil, and set it aside. Combine shredded chicken, hot sauce, cream cheese and cheddar cheese in a large bowl. Mix until all ingredients are well blended. (To help soften the cream cheese, I stuck it in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds, and it was perfect for mixing.) Put flour, eggs and corn flakes into their own separate bowls.

Get a spoonful of the chicken mixture and roll into about 1 to 2 inch balls. I recommend making all of the balls first, and setting them aside on plate or platter until all of them are made and ready to be coated. After forming the balls, dip each of them first into the flour, followed by the egg, and finally the crushed corn flakes. Set each coated ball onto the lined cookie sheet. **Note: For my batch yesterday, 4 cups of corn flakes was not enough, but that will really depend on your preference. I was hoping for a very crunchy final product, which I didn't quite achieve.** Preheat the oven to 350. Bake for 20-25 minutes (until golden brown). Serve with ranch or blue cheese (if you like).

A few personal notes:
1. Prep time: 60 minutes total - 15 minutes to shred chicken, 45 minutes to make the bites
Cook time: 50 minutes total - 25 minutes for chicken breasts, 25 minutes for final product

2. The recipe, as stated above, could easily serve 6-8 people (I think). I will make only half of it for a small group of 2-4.

3. In the future, I'll probably try the less healthy alternative of battering and deep frying these, just to achieve a little crunchier final product. If I do, I'll follow up with how they turned out. :)

Happy Cooking! TTFN

Recipe #1 - BEPs

It seems fitting that the first recipe of the year is Black Eyed Peas, served over rice, with corn bread. :) I'll spare everyone the details of the rice and corn bread and just dive straight into the Black Eyed Peas.

Before I do, though, I'll be very honest up front. Rusty and I are not huge fans of BEPs (the food, that is - we both like the music group). In order for this meal to come off as a success, I really needed to make sure and find a way to spice them up a bit.

First things first - we had some left over ham still in the freezer from Thanksgiving, so I thawed this a few days before, knowing I'd want to use it all up in this recipe.

Ingredients:
*1 bag of black eyed peas
*6 strips of uncooked bacon, cut into pieces
*3 cups of ham, sliced or diced
*1 tsp of black pepper
*1 tsp of cayenne pepper (Rusty and I do like our food a little spicy)
*just a bit of garlic powder

I first soaked the BEPs overnight in water. All in all, they probably ended up soaking for about 10 hours. Next, drain the BEPs. Return them to the pot, and cover with water. **Note - for soupier BEPs, use more water. While cooking, do keep an eye on the water level to make sure the BEPs are covered. If too much water is lost, they could burn pretty easily.** Add remaining ingredients to pot, cover. Bring BEPs to a boil over medium-high heat, before reducing heat to low. I allowed the beans to cook all afternoon, over simmer. They took about 5-6 hours to get to the consistency I desire. To cook them more quickly, use a higher heat setting.

Most of the bacon, and the smaller pieces of ham will cook away into the water, providing nothing more than flavor for the BEPs. Any kind of meats can be used, if you don't prefer bacon or ham.

I enjoy serving the BEPs over some rice and just a little bit of butter. To add even more starch, a few pieces of corn bread are the perfect thing to soak up the juices of the BEPs. :) Enjoy!!

New Adventures in the Kitchen

Several weeks ago, I realized I hardly ever cook any more. I mean, I "cook" dinner every night, but it's not the fun kind...

After work, I have the responsibility of picking up Rylan from daycare (Rusty has drop off duty in the mornings). Usually as soon as his sweet little bum cheeks hit the carseat, he starts saying "More!" and doing the sign for it. Rusty usually gets home about 10 minutes before we do, and will begin getting everything out that we'll need from dinner. Once Rylan and I make our grand entrance, he goes immediately to his high chair, and I to the kitchen to begin (or take over) making dinner.

Anything we make in the evenings usually has to be a pretty quick meal, or else we'll have to deal with a whining, starving little boy. What can I say?! Rusty and I do our best to avoid his meltdowns, only because it sets the entire house into a funk for the rest of the night.

I've set out to try at least one new recipe a week. I thought that there has to be at least one meal that I can take over and make cooking "fun" for again. As I try my new recipes, I plan to use this as my tool to share the good (and not so good) adventures... Wish us luck!! :)

TTFN