Sausage Rolls

Our friend from Scotland would make these every year.  Now that she has moved back, I had to figure it out.  This is an easy appetizer that can be served with mustard/ketchup, HP Sauce or on their own.

You can use any type of sausage, but I used links because they were easier to handle.

Ingredients

1 package Puff Pastry Sheets

1 package sausage links (15 links) 

Preheat oven to 400.

Lay out pastry sheets and cut across folds.  Place three links in the middle of the rectangle and fold pastry over.  Seal and cut in 1 inch pieces and place on baking sheet.  1 Sheet will make 3 rectangles.  2 Rectangles will be remaining and can be saved for another day.  

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until pastry turns golden brown.  

Let them cool slightly before serving. 

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

The first time I made this I used green beans instead of broccoli.  It tasted OK but it tastes much better with the broccoli.  The green beans did not soak up the sauce as well as the broccoli did, and I think that makes a big difference.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup oyster sauce
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes (more for a spicier dish)
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 (1 1/2 pound) Flank steak, trimmed and sliced thin against the grain
12 oz broccoli florets
2 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs minced ginger


In a large measuring cup or bowl, whisk broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and pepper flakes.
In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon of oil.  Once the oil begins to smoke add broccoli and cook, stirring occasionally.  Transfer to a large bowl once the tips of the broccoli start turning slightly brown.

Pat flank steak dry with paper towels.  Heat 2 tsp of oil in skillet and add 1/2 the flank steak.  Cook until meat is brown.  Transfer to bowl with broccoli.  Repeat with the remaining flank steak.

Now add the remaining 2 tsp of oil.  Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant.  Stir back in the steak and broccoli.  Whisk broth mixture to recombine and add to skillet and cook, stirring constantly until sauce is thickened.  Serve over rice.

Potato, Leek and Kielbasa Soup

If you could not tell, I am experimenting with soups.  This is not for people who are on a low carb diet.  On the plus side, there is no cream in this; the rich creamy flavor comes from the potatoes.  
If you do not like kielbasa, or can not find it, substitute with Italian sausage, but obviously you will get a slightly different flavor. 

Ingredients
8 oz package of Kielbasa (cut into 1/2 inch rounds
2 leeks (chop the white and light green parts only)
4 russet potatoes (chopped)
3 tbs butter
1 tbs all purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
pepper to taste


In a large soup pot brown Kielbasa.  Once brown remove from pan and set aside.  Add butter, leeks and potatoes into pan and allow them to cook for 5 minutes.  Stir in all purpose flour until well incorporated.  Whisk in chicken broth and bring to a boil until potatoes become tender.  With an immersion blender, blend the soup for about 30 seconds.  If you do not have an immersion blender, use a regular blender and blend 1 cup of  the potato, leek mixture until smooth and return it to the pot.  Return the Kielbasa to the pan and allow to reheat.  Add fresh cracked black pepper before serving. 


 

Duck L'orange (duck with orange sauce)

This recipe is a little more involved than the others that I have made, but it is well worth it.  I made it for some friends that came over and everyone seemed to enjoy it. 


Ingredients
1 5lb duck (cleaned with innards removed)
2 oranges quartered
1 orange sliced (optional)
1/4 cup water
Salt and pepper

Ingredients for Orange Sauce
zest of 2 large oranges
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
2/3 cups raw sugar
1 tbs bitters
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup Triple Sec liqueur
2 tbs cornstarch


The night before making the duck place on a jelly roll plan in the fridge to help dry out the skin.  This will create a crispier duck. 

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. 
Stuff duck with the 2 quartered oranges.  Score the top of the duck with a sharp knife.  This helps the fat drip off easier.  Liberally salt and pepper the duck.

Line a 14 inch cast iron pan (or roasting pan) with sliced oranges.  Place duck on top of oranges add 1/4 cup water to pan.  Place in oven for about 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes rotate pan and reduce heat to 300 degrees.  Continue cooking duck until the internal temperature is 170 degrees.  This will take about an hour and 15 minutes depending on your oven. 

Orange Sauce
In a saucepan combine the orange zest, juice and sugar.  Simmer until it is reduced to about 3/4 cup  Add Bitters and chicken stock, triple sec and cornstarch.  Simmer until it begins to thicken.

Serve the sauce with Duck
 

Moroccan Soup

This is another good fall soup.  It is makes a really quick middle of the week meal.  It tastes better the next day after it sits overnight. 


Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 tbs Garam Masala
1 14 oz can of chopped tomatoes
1 14 oz can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
1 rotisserie chicken deboned and chopped
3 zucchini chopped
5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup uncooked pearl couscous
pepper

In a large pot or Dutch oven,  heat olive oil and cook onions until lightly browned.  Stir in Garam masala.  Add tomatoes, broth and bring to a simmer.   Add chickpeas, zucchini and couscous and cook covered for 8 minutes.  Stir in chicken and bring back to a simmer.  Add cracked pepper and serve.   

Roasted Acorn Squash

Making acorn squash used to seem like a daunting task because I had no idea how to do it or what it tasted like.  One of my coworkers gave me a magazine that had a very simple recipe and so I stepped out of my comfort zone once again.


Ingredients
1 large acorn squash
Salt and Pepper
olive oil


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut squash in half and clean out the seeds and excess fibers.  Then cut squash into 8ths.  Lightly coat  with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 30 to 35 minutes rotating half.  They are done when they can be easily pierced with a fork.



*I served this with pork marinated in adobe sauce.  Similar recipe to the Adobe Chicken posted earlier  

Classic Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Today we spent the afternoon carving pumpkins for Halloween.  Four pumpkins produce a lot of seeds.
This is one of many recipes we are going to try this week.  This one is considered to be the standard.



Ingredients

2 cups pumpkin seed
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste.


Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Toss pumpkin seeds with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Place in oven and toss every 10 minutes until seeds are dry and slightly golden.  Towards the end keep a close eye... I hear they burn easily.

Cast Iron Mini Omelets

This is very similar to the cast iron baked eggs but I scrambled the eggs instead.  This one also takes a little longer to bake.  

Ingredients

3 eggs 

1 tbs butter

4 pieces of sliced Canadian bacon

1 tbs salsa 

salt and pepper to taste 

1/2 cup shredded cheese.  

1 tbs heavy cream 

Preheat oven 375 degrees

In a 6 inch cast iron plan melt the butter.   Remove from heat and layer Canadian bacon on the bottom of the pan.  Spread the salsa over Canadian bacon.  In a small bowl whisk eggs, salt, pepper and heavy cream together.  Incorporate 1/4 cup cheese into the mixture and pour over the Canadian bacon and salsa.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Rotate and bake for an additional 15 minutes until eggs are cooked.  5 minutes before removing from oven top with the remainder of cheese.

  

Twice Baked Potatoes

In the past we have bought these pre made, so I thought I would finally make them at home.  They really are not as hard as I thought they would be.  They also taste a heck of a lot better when they are fresh.

Ingredients
4 large baking potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion chopped
1 tbs minced garlic
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp mustard powder
salt and pepper
Cilantro (Optional)

Preheat oven to 400.  Wash and dry potatoes and rub them with the olive oil.
Place directly on the rack and bake for 1 hour, turning them halfway through baking.  They are done when you can put a wooden skewer through them and they slide right off.    Cool on a wire rack.

While potatoes are cooling, melt 1 tbs butter in a sauté pan and add onions. Cook until the onions begin to caramelize and add minced garlic.  Let cook for an additional 30 seconds.  Remove contents into a small bowl and set aside.  

Now Preheat oven to 500.

Cut potatoes lengthwise and scoop out flesh into a bowl, leaving about 1/8 inch thickness of flesh in each shell.    Mash potatoes and add milk and sour cream.  Stir in the onion/garlic mix, mustard powder, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup cheddar cheese.  Spoon mixture in the shells and top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

Bake potatoes until cheese is melted and begins to caramelize.  We topped with cilantro but for the bacon lovers out there, chopped bacon would taste great.

Italian Sausage, Tortellini and Spinach Soup

The weather is getting colder.  This is a hearty quick soup for a weeknight.  It reminds me of a soup I used to get at a chain restaurant.  The spiciness depends on the spiciness of the Italian sausage.  


Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
1 lb hot Italian sausage (about 5 links)
1 medium onion chopped
1 tbs minced garlic
6 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 lb Tortellini (seven cheese)
3 cups baby spinach
Black pepper


In a dutch oven or large pot, heat olive oil and brown sausage.  Once sausage is brown, remove from pan and set aside.  To the hot pot, add chopped onion and garlic.  Scrape up all the little bits off the bottom of the pot.  Cook until onions are translucent to slightly caramelized.Add the chicken broth and bay leaf to the pot.  Slice sausage on the bias and return to the pot.  

In another large pot boil the Tortellini to al-dente (about 6 minutes). Once Tortellini is cooked, add to the chicken broth and 2 ladles of pasta water.  Add spinach to the soup pot and bring to a boil.   Stir in black pepper and serve.

Cast Iron Baked Eggs

Last time we past the Lodge Outlet factory I picked up 6 inch mini cast iron pans with the thought of making individual servings of upside down cakes and other decadent desserts.  Yeah, that has not happened yet. However, I did manage to make a pretty yummy breakfast.

Ingredients

2 Large Eggs
Precooked sliced ham (can substitute with any other cooked meat)
1 tbs butter
1 tbs heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste







Preheat oven 350 degrees
On stove top melt butter. Turn off heat and layer precooked sliced ham on the bottom of the pan.  Top with 2 large eggs.  Sprinkle 1 tbs heavy cream over the eggs and bake for about 6 to 12 minutes.  You want to make sure that the egg whites are completely cooked so it may take more time. Also Tim likes his yolks not to be runny so he cooked his a little longer.    Top with salt and pepper.  Light on the salt because the Ham tends to be pretty salty to begin with.  I like to add a little red chili pepper for color.  

Spicy Turkey Chili

The growing season is coming to an end and I realized I have not used my fresh habanero peppers in any of my recipes.  The habanero pepper has a lot of heat and should be used sparingly or in a large dish like chili.  Feel free to substitute the turkey with beef, or for you vegetarians, soy crumbles, work really well in this recipe.   If you are using the soy crumbles put the onions, garlic and crumble all in at the same time.

1 lb ground turkey
1 large onion diced
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs cumin seeds
1 tsp olive oil
11 oz V8
1 14 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 yellow bell pepper chopped
1 habanero diced (optional)
1 14 oz can black beans(rinsed)
1 14 oz can dark kidney beans (rinsed)
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch Cilantro chopped (optional)
1 cup Sharp Cheddar (optional)

In a large pot, heat oil and cumin seeds. When seeds begin to crackle add turkey and brown.  Once Turkey is browned add onions, garlic, and habanero.  Let cook for about 1 minute.  Add diced, tomatoes, V8, bell peppers, black and kidney beans, corns and oregano.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cook for about 30 minutes.  Top with Cilantro and cheese.   

Pork chops with cherry sauce

Every year we get dry cherries from Door County, Wisconsin from a place called Country Ovens .
I usually use them in a banana bread or eat them straight out of the bag.  I had one bag left and decided to try to make a sauce for our pork chops.


Ingredients
4 pork chops
2/3 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
4 tbs butter
1 small onion finely diced
1 tsp minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste


Heat grill

While chopping onions, soak cherries in in dry sherry.
In a saute pan melt 4 tbs butter, add onions cook until translucent.  Add garlic and let cook an additional minute.  Slowly, add cherries, dry sherry, and balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.    Bring to a simmer and let simmer on low until pork chops are ready.

Salt and pepper pork chops and place on grill for about 10 minutes each side or internal temperature 145 degrees.

Spoon cherry sauce over pork chops before serving.

Stuffed Dove Breasts wrapped in Bacon

A few weekends ago Tim went on his annual Dove hunting trip with his buddies.  Normally I am not too excited about him bring home Dove, however I finally have a recipe that I like, thanks to the Riley Brothers.  Ok, so they said to use sharp cheddar; we used goat cheese instead.

Ingredients
14 Dove Breasts
7 slices of thick cut bacon
1 oz goat cheese
1 large serrano


Preheat Grill Medium

Take one dove breast, place a little bit of goat cheese, a slice of serrano, and top with the an additional breast.  Wrap in bacon and use toothpicks to hold in place.

Place on grill and cook until bacon begins to get crisp.  Remove and let cool before enjoying.

Chicken Stew with Chorizo

This reminds me of some good old days I used to have with my friend Jen.  She would come over on Sunday afternoon and we would make this and eat it watching a show called Alias.   Yes, we were and still are wild and crazy gals.

On a side note this is another good fall recipe.


Ingredients
1/4 cup essence of Emeril's Spice Mix
1 tbs olive oil
4 chicken thighs (bone in-skin on)
1 medium red onion diced
1 tbs minced garlic
1 lb ground chorizo or hot Italian sausage
1 small red bell pepper cut into matchsticks
1 small yellow bell pepper cut into matchsticks
1 small green bell pepper cut into matchsticks
4 small potatoes cubed
1 14 oz can diced tomato
6 oz large pitted black olives whole
6 oz of chardonnay
parmesan cheese (optional)
chopped cilantro (optional)


 In a large bowl combine chicken and essence of Emeril's Spice Mix.  Make sure chicken is well coated and set aside.  In a 14 in skillet heat olive oil and place chicken in pan browning both sides (about 1 to 2 minutes each side).  Remove chicken from pan and set aside.  Cook ground sausage until cooked completely through.  Remove all but 1 tbs of excess oil.

Add onions and minced garlic cook until onions soften.  Stir in bell peppers, potatoes and tomatoes. Nestle the chicken back into the pan and pour chardonnay over entire dish and black olives.  Allow to come to a boil.  Cover and lower heat to allow a slow simmer for at least 45 minutes.  I find the more time you let it cook the better it tastes.

Serve over rice or couscous and garnish with parmesan cheese and cilantro.

Pumpkin Oatmeal dog treats

What to do on the first rainy fall Saturday?  Make pumpkin oatmeal cookies for my old ladies, meaning the dogs.  My house now smells like pumpkin pie and has that warm cozy feeling that a house should have during the fall months.

Ingredients
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
1 cup water
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup oatmeal
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Combine pumpkin, water, oil and cinnamon in a bowl.  Stir well and gradually add the oatmeal and flour.  Form a dough and roll to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut with cookie cutters.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 30 minutes.

Chicken Quesadillas

Last weekend I had dinner with friends, and they made Chicken Quesadillas.   I liked them so much I wanted to make them again for Tim.

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts (butterflied)
1 large green bell pepper
1 medium onion
4 cups shredded cheese ( Sargento Mexican Cheese works well)
onion powder
garlic powder
toasted cumin powder
salt
pepper
chipotle pepper
chopped cilantro.
diced jalapeños  (optional)
4 large tortillas


Preheat Grill
Sprinkle onion powder, garlic powder, cumin powder, salt, pepper and chipotle powder on all sides of the chicken.  Grill for 3 minutes each side or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Set aside and dice when cooled.

Cut bell pepper in half and remove seeds.  Flatten the bell pepper and place on grill for about 1 to 2 minutes.    Slice Onion into large rounds and place on grill for 1 to 2 minutes.   Let cool and then dice.

Preheat oven to  425 degrees
On a large baking sheet, place 1 tortilla top with 1 cup of cheese, veggies, chicken, and cilantro.  Top with an additional cup of cheese and 1 tortilla.  Bake for 10 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Serve with favorite salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

Spiced Indian eggplant with potato (Baingan Aloo)

My coworker brought in Japanese eggplant from her garden.  They needed to be used right away so I volunteered to make Baingan Aloo (Spiced Indian eggplant with potato) and bring the dish into the office for my new coworkers to try.  I did not make this as spicy as I normally would so feel free to add some red chili pepper or the entire jalapeño to give it a little more kick.


Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs cumin seeds
1 medium onion diced
1/2 a jalapeno diced (optional)
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 a large tomato diced or 1/2 a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 medium potato diced
3 Japanese Eggplant (cut in 1 inch rounds)
1/4 tsp tumeric
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp red chili pepper (optional)
1 tbs garam masala
cilantro (optional)


In a large skillet heat oil and cumin seeds.  When cumin seeds begin to crackle add onions and cook until slightly browned.  Add jalpaneo, garlic and tomato and cook until combined about 1 minute.  Add, potato, eggplant, turmeric and salt.  Reduce heat to medium/low and cover.  Let cook until potato and eggplant begins to soften, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Stir in garam masala and cilantro.  Cook additional 1 minute.

Serve with Roti or Naan.

Adobo Chicken

This is a really simple and light recipe. I was not sure what to expect with the adobo sauce, but I really loved the results.  It gives the chicken a smokey, spicy flavor that plays well with a Southwest Quinoa Salad.

Ingredients
1 7oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (pureed) (reserve 1/2 cup)
1 lb chicken breasts
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 orange
black pepper to taste


In a gallon size Ziplock bag place chicken and pureed chipotle peppers with adobe sauce (reserving about 1/2 cup or puree) and marinate over night.

Preheat grill and grill chicken for  about 7 minutes each side until internal temperature reaches 160.  Remove and tent with foil while you make the glaze.

To make the glaze combine 1/4 cup marmalade, 1/2 cup of the reserved pureed chipotle in adobe sauce, the zest and juice of one orange.  Bring to a boil and let reduce about 1/2.  Due to the high sugar content continue to stir otherwise the glaze will burn.

Serve chicken over salad and top with glaze.

Figs with blue cheese and Prosciutto

I had my first Fig at work the other day so staying with the Moroccan theme I decided to cook with them.  The Black Mission fig is sweet and tasty on its own.  I bought 2 lbs of Turkey figs the other day hoping they would be just as good.  Turkey Figs are not as sweet.  Before they went bad, I wanted to use them up so decided to slice them in half and stuff them with blue cheese and wrap them in a thin layer or Prosciutto.  We ate them for lunch, but they would makes a great appetizer for all those upcoming holiday parties.

Ingredients
2 lbs turkey figs remove stems and slice in half
1/4 lb blue cheese crumbles
8 oz sliced prosciutto.

Turn on broiler and preheat.

Take the half of the fig and stuff with 1/2 tsp of blue cheese, wrap with prosciutto and place in a 9x 13 baking dish.  Continue until baking dish is full.  Place in oven and broil until Prosciutto is crispy.

Moroccan Chicken

Last week we were on vacation at Disney World.  The first night we were there we ate dinner at the Moroccan restaurant in Epcot .  This is my version of the chicken we ate.  I think next time I will use pearl couscous instead of the small grain I used this time.  My other suggestion is to make sure you get pitted olives.  I accidentally bought olives that were not pitted and it was just annoying to have to eat around the pith.  The last thing is to make sure you get rid of some of the pith on the lemon.  Piths add a bitterness to gravy.


Ingredients
2 tsp red chili pepper (or paprika)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger (powdered or fresh)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
6 to 8 pieces of skinned chicken thighs
2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion julienned
1 tbs chopped garlic (about 3 cloves)
1 cup pitted green and black olives
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup of water
1 lemon julienned (remove piths if you can)
1/4 cup cilantro chopped.


Combine the chicken and all the spices in gallon sized bag and let marinate for about an hour.

In a large cast iron skillet, or any large skillet,  heat 2 tbs olive oil.  Brown the chicken about 5 minutes on each side and remove from pan.  Add the onion and garlic to the pan and let cook for about 1 minute.  When the onions begin to soften add the lemon, olives, water, and chicken broth.  Return the chicken to the pan and cover.  Cook 10 minutes and turn the chicken.  Cook an additional 10 minutes or until chicken is 170 degrees.  Garnish with cilantro.  Serve over couscous.

White Pizza

Tim bought me a dough docker after I showed him the guy at Costco using it to poke holes in the pizza dough.  I was supper excited to try it out because trying to poke dough bubbles in a hot oven with a fork is just asking for burnt knuckles. The dough docker prevents the bubbles from even forming.

Ingredients 

1 rotisserie chicken-skinned and chopped  

16 oz jar of artichoke hearts-drained 

1 12 oz can of chopped olives 

4 tbs butter 

1 small onion chopped 

1 tbs minced garlic 

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 cup chicken broth 

1/2 cup of dry sherry 

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 cups shredded Parmesan

coarse ground black pepper to taste 

1 store bought or home made pizza crust

The sauce in this recipe should look familiar. I used it for the Chicken and Broccoli recipe.

In a sauce pan, melt butter and onions.  Let onions begin to brown and add garlic.  Let cook until onions are caramelized.  Add the all purpose flour and cook for about 1 minute.  Whisk in the chicken broth, dry sherry and heavy cream.  Add 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese and black pepper.  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  

Roll out dough and either use a dough docker to add the vent holes or a butter knife.  Top with white sauce, artichoke hearts, chopped chicken, olives and the 1 cup remaining Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until dough is golden brown.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.  

Tim made dinner...

Tonight I got stuck in traffic on the way home and was about 20 minutes late, so Tim made dinner this evening.  I can not post a recipe because I am not sure what he did, but it tasted really good.
It was Pork Tenderloin with an Orange/Ginger glaze and a carrot salad.  I might be late a little more often if he keeps this up.
 

Chicken and Broccoli

Earlier this week I bought a seven pack of chicken breasts.  The Dijon and Dill Chicken used four of the breasts.  I used the remaining breasts for this recipe but you could use four breasts instead of three.
One thing I will be purchasing soon is a sauté pan that goes from stove top to oven.

Ingredients
3 or 4 chicken breasts

1 small onion chopped finally
1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 tbs butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 cup chicken broth
12 oz chopped broccoli
salt and pepper
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese


Pat chicken dry and salt and pepper both sides.  Melt 1 tbs butter in sauté pan and cook chicken for about 3 minutes on both sides to brown.  Remove chicken and set aside.  Melt remaining butter in pan and caramelize the onions.  Add flour to the pan, and cook about 1 minute.  Whisk in chicken broth, sherry, and heavy cream.  Return chicken to the pan and cover over medium low heat for about 15 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken is 160 degrees.

Once chicken is completely cooked, place in a baking dish. Combine the broccoli and 1/2 cup Parmesan into the sauté pan.  Pour entire contents of sauté pan over the chicken and then top with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.  Broil until Parmesan has slightly toasted.

Serve with Orzo or Rice.
 

Dijon and Dill Chicken (Double D Chicken)

I am experimenting more with fresh herbs and making my gardening plans for next year and the edible plants I want to grow.  Yes,  I am well aware that it's early to be planning for next year. This is supposed to be a less-than-30-minute meal to make...it took a lot longer because the chicken breasts were huge!   

Ingredients
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs olive oil
1 minced shallot
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Sutter Homes Chardonnay)
3 tbs unsalted butter
2 tbs chopped fresh dill
1 tbs Country dijon mustard


Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken.  Spread flour in a shallow dish and dredge chicken in the flour.

Heat 1 tbs olive oil in sauté pan and cook chicken until golden brown and 160 degrees.  Depending on the size of the chicken breast, it can be 5 to 10 minutes each side.  Remove chicken from pan and tent loosely with aluminum foil.

Heat remaining 1 tbs olive oil and add shallots and cook until shallots become soft.  Stir in chicken broth and wine.  Simmer for about 8 minutes until it begins to thicken.  Remove from heat and stir in mustard, dill and butter.  Serve sauce over chicken.

Lettuce wraps (Chicken/Pork/Beef/Turkey)

When going to our local Thai restaurant, we like to order the lettuce wraps as an appetizer.  I decided to make them for dinner instead.  Tim likes to eat them in a tortilla instead of lettuce leaves because they are less messy.

Ingredients
1 lb ground meat (your choice)
1 can diced water chestnuts or 1 medium diced jicimia
3 tbs housin sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp minced ginger or 1 tbs diced ginger
1 diced jalapeño (optional)
1 tbs garlic chili sauce (optional)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional)

Wash and separate lettuce leaves.

In a large saute pan brown meat.  Once meat is browned add everything else (except the lettuce) and let combine for 5 minutes.  Serve with Lettuce.

Lamb Masala

Since we are only two people, we had a lot of leftover Lamb from the roast.  I used the leftovers to make Lamb Masala.  This can also be made with stew pieces of lamb or beef.


Ingredients
1 lb cubed stew lamb
1 tbs oil
5 medium onions chopped
1 tbs cumin seeds
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs minced ginger
3 diced jalapeños/serranos (optional)
1 tsp red chilli pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt to taste
1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
2 cups water
1 tbs garam masala
1 bunch cilantro chopped (optional)

In a large pot, heat oil with cumin.  When cumin begins to crackle add onions.  Cook onions until caramelized.  Add Garlic, ginger and jalapeños, tomato paste and chopped tomatoes.  Cook on medium until combined.  Add chili pepper, tumeric, salt and meat and water.  If using fresh uncooked meat boil for 20 minutes until meat is done.  If using leftovers from the roast, boil until meat is heated through.  Add garam masala and cilantro.
Serve with Naan and/or white rice.

Boneless Leg of Lamb Roast

I start a new job this week, so I am going to have less time to cook during the week.  I wanted to make a roast that I can use in a couple of different recipes.  I made a boneless leg of lamb which will make at least 2 dinners and leftovers for lunch.  Dinner 1 was just the lamb and some vegetables.  Dinner 2 will be lamb masala with some pita or naan.  

Ingredients
5 lb boneless leg of lamb
Kosher Salt to taste
Fresh black pepper
4 tbs butter softened
2 tbs minced garlic


Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Combine butter, garlic, salt and pepper.  Massage lamb with the mixture.  Roast for 20 minutes and then reduce heat to 375 and roast for an additional 40 to 60 minutes until internal temperature registers 145 degrees.  Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Fried Rice

A friend of mine asked for my recipe for Fried Rice.  I use regular soy sauce, but feel free to use low sodium if salt is an issue.  I served it with a Korean BBQ flank steak, but you can substitute with any other type of meat.

Ingredients
2 tbs Sesame Oil
2 tbs butter
2 large eggs scrambled
2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup mixed veggies
4 tbs soy sauce


Heat 1 tbs of sesame oil.  Scramble the eggs and remove from the pan.  Add 2 tbs butter to the hot pan and add the cooked rice.  Stir the rice until it's coated with the melted butter.  Add the mixed veggies and stir.  Add the 4 tbs of soy sauce and the remaining tbs of sesame oil.  Return the eggs back to the pan.   

Alfredo Sauce

I am never buying jarred Alfredo sauce again.    This really took about 10 minutes and covers 1 lb. of pasta.

Ingredients
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1 tbs minced garlic (optional)
1 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
Course black pepper
Italian Parsley chopped (optional)


In a large saute pan, melt 1 tbs butter and roast the minced garlic.  Slowly add the cream.  Stir in the remaining butter 1 tbs at a time until fully incorporated.  Once incorporated bring to a simmer and incorporate parmesan cheese.

Serve with Fettuccine pasta.

Moist Burgers

I am going to give credit where credit is due...this was Tim's idea.  I was making burger patties the other day and he walked into the kitchen and asked if we could add Panko in the meat.  The idea behind it is, people use bread crumbs and Panko in meatloaf to retain moisture why not in burgers.  These burgers were super moist and delicious.

Ingredients
1.34 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup panko
salt and pepper to taste
Red Chili flakes (optional)


Preheat grill.  Mix all ingredients and make 4 patties.  In the middle of the patty put a dimple and place on grill dimple side up.  Cook for desired doneness.  We do 5 minutes on each side and additional 1 minute with cheese.

Tamarind (imili) chutney

Tamarind(imili) sauce can be found at any Indian restaurant as an accompaniment to Samosas or Pakoras.  Depending on how it is made, it can be sour and thin.  I like my imili to be thick and a little more on the spicy side.  Now this recipe and method would have been easier with a food mill, but I did it all by hand.  I have plans to purchase a food mill within the next year.

Ingredients
17.6 oz Tamarind
4 cups boiling water
1/2 cups + 1 Tbs Sugar
2 tbs red chili pepper

1 tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp toasted cumin powder (Take cumin seeds and toast in a pan and then grind)  

In a large heat-safe bowl place tamarind and cover with boiling water.  Let set 1 hour or until water is cool enough to handle.  By hand, break up the tamarind.  Either by hand or with a food mill, strain the pulp through a mesh strainer.  Continue until all pulp has been strained.  More water can be added to help this process.  

Once the pulp is strained, in a medium sized pot, combine tamarind pulp sugar and the rest of the spices.  Boil until until desired consistency.  Taste for flavor.  If it is too sour add more sugar, a tbs/tsp at a time.     

Chicken Burgers

I was at the grocery store and noticed that they were selling chicken burgers.  We did try them, but I thought that they were thin and did not have a lot of flavor.  This was my attempt.   I did have the butcher grind up 3 breasts for me since they do not sell ground chicken.


Ingredients
3 chicken breasts ground
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red chili flakes (optional)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

optional toppings
Bacon
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Mayo

Preheat grill or these can be made in a skillet on the stove.
In a large bowl mix all ingredients and form 4 patties. Grill for 7 minutes on each side or until internal temperature is 170 

Cast Iron Pizza

A few months ago we went to a local book store to hang out.  I ran across a Cast Iron Cook book and thumbed through it and thought, "I can do this." Today we tried cast iron skillet pizza.  Normally I make my own pizza dough in the bread maker, but today because I decided a little too late in the evening so we bought some pre-made pizza dough from our Publix Bakery.

Ingredients
1-1.5 lb pizza dough
2 tbs olive oil
Pizza sauce 

Optional toppings
Pepperoni
Italian sausage crumbles
Fresh mozzarella
shredded cheese
Baby portobello mushrooms
sliced black olives
diced green bell pepper


Preheat oven to 475
Oil a 14 inch cast iron skillet with 2 tbs olive oil.  Make sure you get the bottom and the sides.  Roll out dough or hand stretch to fit the bottom of the skillet.  Put a layer of shredded cheese.  Spoon some pizza sauce over the mozzarella.  Layer Pepperoni, shredded cheese, Italian sauce crumbles, more sauce, veggies, and finally the fresh mozzarella.

Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown and mozzarella begins to caramelize.

Portobello Mushroom burgers

This recipe is thanks to my sister in law.  She told Tim how to make them and he made them for me when we had just started dating.  These mushrooms are a great alternative to beef burgers.  They have a  very meaty texture that can satisfy.


Ingredients
4 Large portobello mushroom caps
enough Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing to cover mushrooms
4 oz fresh mozzarella divided into equal portions


Take a slightly damp paper towel and dust off the mushroom caps.  Place them in a Ziploc bag and cover with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.  Marinate for at least 1 hour.

Grill instructions:
Heat Grill and cook until portobello's begin to soften about 15 minutes on indirect heat (less time with direct heat).  Make sure you turn them after a few minutes.  Before serving place the cheese in the mushroom caps and allow to begin to melt.

Oven instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until softened.  Add Cheese to each and continue baking until melted.









Serve with all your favorite burger toppings.  

Bund Gobi (Spiced Shredded Cabbage)

This is another recipe that my mom used to make.  I like using the fresh cabbage but you can use the pre packaged coleslaw mix.  You can also add green peas to the mix for some additional color and veggie power.

Cabbage lower right corner

Ingredients:
1 small cabbage head (thinly cut) or 1 package coleslaw mix
2 medium tomatoes (chopped) or 6 oz diced canned tomatoes
1 Serrano pepper sliced in half (optional)
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp mustard seed
1/2 tsp hing
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
1 tsp garam masala

In a large skillet, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds.  When the seeds begin to crackle add the hing.
Now add the cabbage, tomatoes, Serrano pepper, salt, red chili powder, and tumeric.  Cook uncovered on high heat until the water is evaporated.  Add the garam masala, cover and turn off or remove from heat.

Toor Daal-Orange Lentil Soup

My mom and sister make a really good version of this, and this my attempt. Tim (who does not eat a lot of vegetarian food) had two helpings.  Toor Daal can be found at any Indian grocery store, but if you are looking at a non Indian store it is called Split Pigeon Peas.  An additional ingredient you may have to locate in specialty store is Hing(Asafoetida).

Ingredients
1 cup toor daal
4 cups water
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp tumeric powder
1 tbs oil
2 dried chili peppers
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp hing
2-3 medium tomatoes chopped (or 6oz  canned diced tomatoes)
2 tbs lemon juice
pinch of citric acid (be careful to much will make it tart)
4 cubes of sugar (about 1 tsp)
1 tsp garam masala
fresh chopped cilantro (optional)

In a pressure cooker add water, toor daal, cayenne powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and tumeric.  Pressurize the mixture for about 15 minutes.  If you do not have a pressure cooker you can place the same ingredients in a crock pot and cook 6 hours on low.  The lentils should become soft.  With a blender, blend into a smooth soup-like consistency.

In a large saucepan heat the oil and toast the dried chillies.  When the chillies turn black add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and hing.  Let sizzle for a few seconds and add chopped tomatoes and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.  Cook until most of the moisture has evaporated.  Now carefully add the toor daal mixture.  Bring to a boil and lower the heat.  Add the lemon juice, citric acid, and sugar.   Let the mixture simmer until it is a thick creamy texture.  Add garam masala and chopped cilantro.

Serve over rice.

Puppy Cookies

I have made these a few times and my dogs LOVE them.  So much so that Julie was staring at me the entire time I was rolling out the dough. 

Ingredients

1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 1/4 wheat flour
1 cup oatmeal

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In a large bowl combine peanut butter, vegetable oil, and water. Incorporate 1/4 cup flour at a time.  Then incorporate oatmeal.  Roll dough out into 1/4 inch thickness and cut using cookie cutters.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes. 

Let cool for 5 minutes before giving to your dogs.

Taziki Sauce

We made lamb with a mint marinade on Saturday and had plenty of leftovers (not good enough to post).  We were going to do lamb tacos tonight but I had an epiphany while driving to try to make Taziki Sauce.  For my first try, Tim said I was dead on.  I used Chobani yogurt because I find that it is a little more tart than the other brands of greek yogurt that I have tried.  I used an English cucumber because I find that they have less seeds and are not as bitter as regular cucumbers.

Ingredients
1 8 oz container of Chobani plain Greek Yogurt
juice of half a lemon
half of of an English cucumber seeded and chopped
1 tbs chopped fresh Dill
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl mix all ingredients and set in fridge for about 20 minutes before serving.